


Sword Art Online Verson Vongola

by Naintarlow



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!, Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga), ソードアート・オンライン - 川原礫 | Sword Art Online - Kawahara Reki
Genre: Aincrad (Sword Art Online), Crossover, Gen, Original Character(s), Pre-Reborn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:01:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 137,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28871994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naintarlow/pseuds/Naintarlow
Summary: 11 year old Sawada Tsunayoshi was one of the ten thousand players who logged into Sword Art Online. He found freedom in this virtual word far away from anything associated with Dame-Tsuna. Now, as the Death Game begins, watch as the swordsman Natsu takes his first steps into this world and grow into the leader he was meant to be.
Relationships: Sawada Tsunayoshi/Argo
Comments: 11
Kudos: 98





	1. Level 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own neither Sword Art Online nor Katekyo Hitman Reborn. I'm only doing it for fun.
> 
> Author's note: Hi there! This is my first fanfiction, I started posting in FF.net with the same author name but decided to upload to here too just in case. Currently I have 15 chapters completed and I will be slowly update them to this one after going over a spell-check in each chapter.  
> English is not my first language and I'm prone to have grammatical error so sorry about that

** Chapter 1: A world of swords **

Nana

'Please, let this nightmare end. Please, wake up Tsu-kun.' thought Sawada Nana, furiously blinking back the tears that wouldn't stop falling since she heard the news. Since she was told that her son may never wake up.

The day started out so well, so perfect. It shouldn't have ended this way.

Iemetsu-kun was finally able to home from his busy job in the Antarctic and he brought gifts with himself. She got a very nice dress - that romantic man - and Tsu-kun got a game called Sword Art Online.

The joy on her darling son's face was so sweet she couldn't help but admire it According to her boys the game was for something called NerveGear which her husband also bought and was able to make a game as lifelike as possible.

Her son couldn't sit still wanting to play with his game, so because it was Saturday and Tsu-kun was really trying hard at school lately, she allowed him to play while she and Iemitsu went out for lunch. Nana would later learn what a grave mistake it became.

At the end of their date, Iemitsu got an urgent phone call. Something happened at work because he needed to go back as soon as he could. The housewife accepted his apology, happy even for this little time with her husband. So from the restaurant, she headed home, while he went to the Airport.

It was during the trip back home, that she began to hear whispers about a tragedy. About some game, thousands of kids imprisoned, hundreds of dead already. A pit began to form in her stomach and dread weighed down her limbs as she saw the police at her home.

She could only sob desperately as she was told the news. "Tsu-kun.".

-0-

After that everything blurred together. She recalled collapsing upon seeing the motionless form of her son -her 11-year-old son- with that cursed helmet on, holding his limp hand in the ambulance through his trip to the hospital and trying to hold it together with other distraught parents especially when one of the kid's helmet ended the life of the poor girl who was wearing it.

All Nana could think amongst painful sobs, that she couldn't consider a world without her little Tsu-kun's shy smiles.

-0-

Natsu

Tsuna couldn't breathe. It wasn't supposed to happen. He should be eating dinner with Mom, maybe with his father, not having a panic attack in the middle of this...this Death Game.

The almost twelve-year-old was small for his age, had spiky brown hair standing in every direction above large doe eyes. He was easy to mistake for a girl due to his effeminate build.

Tsuna or Natsu in this world wore an orange-colored version of the basic starting gear with a one-handed sword strapped across his back.

Natsu almost shrieked and most definitely jumped when a large hand reassuringly gripped his shoulder. Looking at the man standing beside him, the boy slightly relaxed. Agil cut a very imposing figure. He was of Afro-American descent, two meter tall and broad-shouldered, bald and had a goatee. Despite this, the gentle look on his face was able to calm Natsu down slightly.

"Do you feel better, Natsu-kun?"

With a small smile, the young swordsman nodded while he began to think about the events that led him here.

-0-

Sawada Tsunayoshi better known as Dame-Tsuna couldn't wipe the smile off his face. This was the best day of his life. His father finally came home. through he was happy because Mom was happy, and gave him what he always wanted. Sword art online, the very first Vrmmorpg game ever. To top it all today was the game's opening.

Tsuna always liked games, RPGs most of all because it allowed him to get away from his Dame self. With great enthusiasm, he logged in and hastily created his character Natsu.

He made his avatar with very few modifications to his original looks. Natsu was taller, looking more like a 14-year-old than Tsuna's 11, had blonde hair and orange-colored eyes.

After character creation, he began to finally play and Natsu was enamored by the game in an instant. When he finished marveling at how real everything looked, he set out to explore this world of swords.

After leaving Starting City, he soon joined a party of two players.

Agil, an older man with black skin and black styled in a mohawk, who was a starting two-handed axe user, invited Natsu with a smile filled with excitement. According to him, he looked so lost after getting to the field, he felt he should help Natsu get through the first hurdles of familiarizing himself with the game.

The other player was called Buzz. The slightly older looking boy had blue colored hair which was pulled into a ponytail. The spear-wielding teen was a former beta tester who knew Agil from real life and with a wry smile, after prompted by Agil, offered Natsu to help with the basics.

The younger boy was quick to accept the help, more to play with other people than anything. He soon found out, he had a surprisingly good sense when it came to combat. The clumsiness that followed him to every aspect of his life was strangely absent. He still tripped from time to time, but when he began fighting his moves became clearer, more confident and he gained a sort of sixth sense when it came to anticipating his opponent's movements. Natsu still made some mistakes, panicked a few times but he was always helped out by Agil or Buzz.

Everything went so well Natsu hasn't thought of logging out, till Agil mentioned the time, near 5 pm. Before he could react to this, all three players were engulfed by a bright light.

Right after this, the world changed forever.

-0-

The party of players found themselves in the largest square in Starting City along with what looked like most of the players. Natsu and Agil looked around confused, while Buzz was checking something on his menu, with an increasing frown on his face.

For a few seconds, everyone just looked around without a word.

Then a few mumbles and mutters could be heard here and there; it started to get louder.

"What's happening?"

"Can we log out now?"

"Can't they take care of it quickly?"

Comments like these could be heard from time to time.

As the players started to get more annoyed, shouts like "Is this a joke?" and "Get the hell out here, GMs!" could be heard.

Natsu was getting worried, feeling something was very wrong, when he had the sudden urge to look up. The bottom surface of the second floor, one hundred meters up in the air was checkered in red.

When he looked closely, he could make out that they were made up of two phrases crisscrossing each other. The word that was written in red was Warning and System Announcement.

Agil, let out a huff of relief seeing this.

"Looks like the GM's about to explain what's the problem. About time."

However, the look on Buzz's face said he was not convinced. To be honest Natsu also felt unsure.

What happened after that told them they were right.

From the middle of the pattern, a liquid similar to blood started oozing down slowly. It came down at a rate that almost emphasized how viscid it was, but it didn't fall; instead, it started morphing into another shape.

What appeared was a twenty-meter tall man with a hooded robe draped around him.

No, that wasn't exactly right. From where they were looking, they could easily see into the hood—there was no face. It was empty.

They could clearly see the inner cloth and the green embroidery inside the hood. It was the same inside the robe; all they could see inside the rim were shadows.

"That's the robe of a GM but what's with the freaky setup?"

Buzz began to look even more agitated, even Agil lost his newfound relief. Natsu bit his lips, if the intention was to frighten them, it was working very well.

The right hand of the robe moved, silencing the numerous whispers that broke out.

A pure white glove appeared from the folds of the long sleeve. But this sleeve, like the rest of the robe, wasn't connected to any sort of body.

Then the left arm slowly lifted upwards, too. Then with its two empty gloves spread out in front of ten thousand players, the faceless person opened his mouth—no, it felt like it did. Then a low and calm voice of a male resonated from high up in the air.

"Players, I welcome you all to my world."

Natsu thought the words held a strange weight, but couldn't voice his it. The anonymous red robe lowered its two arms and continued talking.

"My name is Kayaba Akihiko. Right now, I am the only person who can control this world."

Kayaba Akihiko. That name sent a jolt of shock through his spine. The creator of FullDive technology which enabled this game and the game itself. Even Natsu knew about him enough to realize the weight his word carried. But what is he talking about?

"I think that most of you have discovered the fact that the log out button has disappeared from the main menu. This is not a bug; it is all part of Sword Art Online's system.'"

"Part of...the system?"

Natsu muttered; his voice breaking up. He couldn't comprehend it. The announcement continued in its low voice as if to cover the sound.

"Until you get to the top of this castle, you cannot log out of your own free will."

Then the next thing that Kayaba said dashed any hope the players held.

"...also, the discontinuation or dismantling of the Nerve Gear from the outside is strictly forbidden. If these things are attempted..."

A moment of silence.

The silence of ten thousand people was overwhelming. The next words came slowly.

"The signal sensors in your Nerve Gear will emit a strong electromagnetic pulse, destroying your brain and stopping all of your basic functions."

Natsu couldn't understand the significance of every word but the face Agil made, cleared away any confusion.

Any user that turned the Nerve Gear off or unlocked the clasp and took it off would be killed. That is what Kayaba had just stated.

"It-it's just a prank, right? That's no way that's true." stated Natsu, hoping the older men agree with his words.

But Buzz stood still teeth clenching as he stared at the form of Kayaba. Ad if against his will he began to speak, destroying the last of Natsu's hopes.

"Theoretically it could be used for that, the NerveGear is basically a microwave."

Terror gripped the young boy's heart at the confirmation, he almost missed the next announcement.

"To be a little more specific, dislocation from an outside source of electricity for ten minutes, being cut off from the system for more than two hours, or any attempt to unlock, dismantle, or destroy the Nerve Gear. If any of these conditions are met, the brain destruction sequence will start. These conditions have been made known to the government and the public through mass media in the outside world."

"On that note, there have been several cases where the relatives or friends have ignored the warnings and tried to forcefully get rid of the Nerve Gear. The result—'" The metallic voice took a short breath here. "—regretfully 213 players have already exited this game, and the real world forever."

Agil and Buzz opened their mouths to shout denials, but nothing came out. Natsu wanted to do the same, but part of him already accepted the truth. That was no joke, no opening ceremony, rather it was the new reality they had to live in.

If what Kayaba said was true, over 200 people have already died up until now?

"'Players, there is no need to worry about the bodies that you have left on the other side. As of this moment, all TV, radio, and internet media are all repeatedly reporting this situation, including the fact that there have been numerous deaths. The danger of having your Nerve Gear taken off has already all but disappeared. In a moment, using the two hours I have given, all of you will be transported to hospitals or similar institutes and be given the best treatment. So you can relax...and concentrate on beating the game.'"

"What...?"

Then, at last, Buzz started shouting violently.

"What are you saying!? Beat the game!? You want us to play around in a situation like this!?"

Then Kayaba Akihiko started announcing silently with his monotonous voice.

"But I ask of you all to understand that Sword Art Online is no longer a simple game. It is a second reality...from now on, any form of revival in the game will no longer work. The moment that your HP reaches 0, your avatar will be gone forever, and at the same time—"

Natsu could guess what he was going to say all too clearly.

"Your brain will be destroyed by the Nerve Gear."

Natsu couldn't see the point, why would Kayaba Akihiko do this? If you die you die for real, you can't even stop playing. Who in their right mind would leave the city with those conditions?

Then as if answering those unspoken thoughts. the game's creator spoke once again.

"Players, there is only one way to be freed from this game. As I have said before, you must get to the top of Aincrad, the one-hundredth floor, and defeat the final boss that resides there. All players still alive at that time will be immediately logged out of the game. I give you all my word.'"

Ten thousand players stood in silence.

Buzz finally lost his temper, voicing the thoughts of many players.

"You want us to conquer all 100 floors!? Are you insane? The beta never reached anywhere that! That doesn't make any sense, why do this?"

Agil's face showed the same thoughts went through him and Natsu couldn't help but agree. Such an unreachable goal, such as unreasonable conditions. They didn't make sense, most were unable to accept the reality Kayaba painted before then.

Then, the red robe that had always been one step ahead of us swept its right glove and started speaking with a voice void of all emotion.

"Then I will show you evidence that this is your only reality. In your inventories, there will be a gift from me. Please confirm this."

Natsu pressed the item button on the menu that had just appeared and the item was there, at the top of his belongings list.

The name of the item—hand mirror.

Frowning in confusion, he tapped on the name

and pressed the "make into object" button. Immediately afterward, there was a twinkling sound effect and a small rectangular mirror

appeared.

Natsu reached out and grabbed it. but nothing happened. Looking to the side he saw Agil and Buzz also staring at their mirrors.

Then suddenly every avatar around them including their own was surrounded by blue light, similar to the effect of teleportation. When it disappeared everything looked the same except one thing - the players.

Agil was as tall as ever, but he lost the mohawk and replaced it with a bald head. His features took a more gentle look, along with a short beard shaping his face.

While Agil was easy to recognize despite the change in his avatar, with Buzz it was much more difficult to find similarities. His blue hair was replaced with greying, brown, his eyes sporting a green coloring now. The previously 18-year-old looking man was suddenly around the age of 30. He looked foreign, European if he has to make a guess.

While he tried to connect the people before him with those he partied with earlier today, the two older looked at each other and recognized the other easily due to their friendship in real life. Then they brought their shocked, disbelieving eyes towards him.

Now that Natsu thought about it, the two looked taller, no everything looked taller as if he. became...a foot shorter in an instant.

"Natsu...-kun?" called out Agil uncertainty.

Looking at the hand mirror confirmed his suspicions. The 14-year-old blonde Natsu was replaced by the 11-year-old Tsuna. Complete with fluffy, gravity-defying brown hair and equally brown eyes. His quiet confidence. which helped to keep his calm in the face of what's happening disappeared without any trace, because Tsuna not strong like Natsu, Tsuna couldn't face this madness.

His internal worrying was put to a halt, when Agil reassuringly gripped his shoulder, directing a calming smile to the young boy. He ignored Buzz's theories about how the game knew their face. height and the like, while he came to grips with this sudden dose of reality.

As ten thousand players struggled to come to terms that this was not a joke, not a prank, there was one question that stood out in everyone's mind. Why?

A few seconds later a voice, sounding almost solemn, sounded from the blood-red sky.

"You will all most probably be wondering 'why.' Why am I—the creator of both the Nerve Gear and SAO, Kayaba Akihiko—doing something like this? Is this a sort of terrorist attack? Is he doing this to ransom us?'"

It was then that Kayaba's voice, which had been emotionless up to now, seemed to show some signs of emotion.

"None of these is the reason I am doing this. Not only that but now for me, there is no longer a reason or a purpose in doing this. The reason is because...this situation itself was my purpose in doing this. To create and watch this world is the only reason I have created the Nerve Gear and SAO. And now, everything has been realized.'"

Then after a short break, Kayaba's voice, now emotionless again, sounded.

"...now I have finished the official tutorial for Sword Art Online. Best of luck players."

The huge robe rose soundlessly and started sinking, hood first, into the system message that covered the sky as if melting.

Its shoulders, then its chest, then its two arms and legs merged into the red surface, and then a final red stain spread briefly. Right afterward, the system message that had covered the sky disappeared as suddenly as it appeared.

The game had returned to its normal state, apart from the fact that a couple of rules had been changed.

As a pandemonium of panicked cries ensured, Natsu felt himself led into a nearby alley by Agil. Looking up he caught Buzz and Agil arguing about what to do.

"The next town is near here, we can have an easier time to level and gear up. Leave the kid here in the inn and let's go while we are ahead of others." Buzz's voice was rougher, older than before. He was looking in the directory of the rest of the players, looking anxious to leave.

"What about other players? They will need help to survive!"

Agil's voice sounded far calmer than what the situation demanded, but it helped ground Natsu's thoughts. Forcing himself not to focus on the thoughts of being trapped - of not seeing Mama ever again -, Natsu quickly went through what to do. What Natsu would as opposed to Dame-Tsuna.

"I'm going with you" both men started to object, but he continued talking before he lost his nerve. " I won't sit here, waiting to be rescued. You both told me I was natural at fighting, I won't slow you down, I promise!"

The two men looked at each other and after a silent exchange seemed resigned to the fact that the young boy would follow them.

-0-

After that, the three of them left behind the City of Beginnings with Buzz leading them through a safer route. During that time they saw a black-haired young man ahead of them, but soon lost sight of him.

Before long they arrived at the village, Natsu's eyes curiously burning with an orange light with his resolution and silent promise.

'I'll survive this world and I'll return home. I promise this on my dying will.'


	2. Level 2 The silent rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsu contemplates the events of the past month, the inclusion of a new party member as the small group make their way to the first floor strategym eeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the second chapter, I will try to update daily after checking for spelling mistakes until I catch up to what is already posted on FF net  
> If anyone interested, recently a discord server was made for SAO Fanfiction author, where are a bunch of us bouncing off ideas, joking around and generally having a good time. There are readers, betas and authors alike so feel free to join us if you are interested. Here's the link: https://discord.gg/NZzVyaJx  
> Without further ado, let's meet everyone's favorite baseball-loving swordsman.

**Level 2 The silent rain**  
One month had gone by since the start of the game One thousand players have died through various means including suicide and player killing. And worst of all the first-floor boss is yet to be defeated.  
With morale so low, Natsu was surprised how many showed up for the upcoming meeting for the first boss battle. There were a lot of players wielding quality items fit for their higher levels, but there were also a few of them still in their starting gear. Budding merchants, craftsmen joined the brave warriors who planned to challenge the boss.  
Natsu thought about looking around. trying to find a better blade than his current one. His weighted iron blade was a step better than what he started with, but wouldn't cut it out for long on the second floor, according to the information distributed by the beta players. No need to take unnecessary risks.  
Agil caught his wandering look and slightly shook his head.  
"We can look around later, to find if there is anything useful. First, let's see what comes out in the meeting."  
A little embarrassed, Natsu sent a little nod to the ax wielder, while ignoring the bemused look from Buzz and the snicker from the fourth member of their party.  
Speaking of whom, Natsu sent a glance to the player who joined them a week ago, thinking about the events that led to their party expanding.

  
**-0- Flashback -0-**

  
Natsu followed Buzz into the dimly lit dungeon, hand firmly on his sword. Agil went back to starting City, to distribute the excess gear that they did not need, to help the players planning to go out to the fields. Natsu agreed with his plan, he already saw players die before his very eyes and it haunted him for days. The better prepared they are, the better chances everyone has.  
For the past three weeks, the trio barely stopped for anything besides farming, exploring, and leveling up. Buzz urged them to train as much as they can, without leaving time to wallow in their thoughts. According to him, it's easier to distract themselves if they have something to do in front of them.  
Natsu appreciated it, because he only panicked a few times, luckily outside of battle. Buzz was impressed enough with him to suggest going through this dungeon again with only two of them.  
"Quit daydreaming kid. There is a chance mobs are lying in wait. Don't let your guard down" came the gruff voice of Buzz.  
Not replying in words, Natsu drew his blade, looking around trying to spot anything out of the ordinary. His newly acquired sword was a comforting weight in his hands, grounding his errant thoughts.  
They came through a couple of monsters, mostly bears. The older man helped Natsu see through their attack patterns and counter accordingly, claiming it would help especially against humanoid opponents in higher levels.  
They dispatched another group of bears with relative ease and when it appeared no other monsters were in the vicinity Natsu stopped for a second trying to get his breath back. As he leaned over a tree panting, he looked over Buzz. The older man had his spear resting on his shoulder, breathing even, looking out for any surprises. Figuring they had time to talk Natsu uncertainly called out.  
"Hey Buzz? " his answer came as a noncommittal grunt showing the other was listening.  
"Why are you fighting so hard? I mean…you never let anything slow you down, you always walking forward…why…how can you go on like that? "  
It's not that Natsu was any less of a hard-worker as Agil and Buzz, but he always doubts himself, while the older two never seemed to look anything but confident. He would have rambled for a while if Buzz didn't decide to cut him off.  
"I have a daughter." The admission surprised the young boy, who looked at the spear user who scratched his head. "Her mom and I were childhood sweethearts, but eventually we went our ways. She got custody, but I still try to spend as much time with her as I can. Why do I fight? So I can go back and tell her all the fun adventures I had for her."  
Natus couldn't help but blink. Buzz always looked tough, it was a little bizarre seeing that soft look on his face.  
"What"s your daughter's name?" He asked in the end.  
"Emi. She's five yours old now."  
After this, a silence descended between them. Natsu was happy to learn about his partner who always seemed so closed-off. Eventually, Buzz declared that they should be going, not another word between them about their little talk.  
It was an hour later, when they were contemplating going back to the nearest village, they heard sounds of fighting. Curious, they followed the sounds to a clearing finding a single-player engaging the strongest monster in the dungeon, the Mad Grizzly.  
Twice as big as his fellows, with a scar going through his left eye, the Mad Grizzly made a frightening figure. Thanks to his permanent berserker buff, he was able to ignore wounds and even some knockback effects. According to intel about the dungeon, it's supposed to be accompanied by two weaker Big Grizzlys but from the looks of it, they were already defeated.  
The player wore basic leather armor with a blue undershirt, wielding a curved sword. He had short black hair, black eyes, and a handsome face, a head taller than Natsu. The state of his equipment told them he had quite a fight behind him, he lost most of his HP and he was having trouble breathing properly. But the most glaring thing about him was the look in his eyes. He had the look of someone who cared about nothing but the fight ahead of him.  
Fortunately, his opponent was also on its last legs, his HP was already in the red.  
When the player fell to a knee in exhaustion, Natsu was already in motion. Activating his basic sword skill, the one-hit Horizontal he was able to catch the bear on its side, drawing his aggro from the other player.  
With a clear shout of Switch ranging out, he sidestepped easily letting the spear thrust into the unsteady mob. Capitalizing on the small opening, Natsu unleashed his current strongest skill, the 2-hit Vertical arc, leaving the shape of V in the hind of the bear as it's HP reached zero.  
As the bear scattered into polygons, Natsu flashed a sheepish smile at Buzz's reprimanding face for running ahead without thought, before turning to the painting swordsman.  
"Are you alright..?" Natsu trailed off, recognizing the face warily looking at him. "Ya-Yamamoto?!"  
Yamamoto Takeshi, rising baseball player of Nanimor Elementary, a classmate of Tsuna, was the last person he thought he would meet here. At first glance it was hard to make to connection, the teen was without the smile that seemed to be always on his face.  
Yamamoto furrowed his brows as he looked closer at a surprised Natsu.  
"Sawada Tsuna?"  
All he got a sheepish nod before Buzz interrupted them.  
"The safe zone is not far from here. Let's get there, then you can catch up."  
Natsu gave a nod then helped a still a little bit out of it Yamamoto up. During their short trek to the safe zone, the other teen was silent, while Natsu felt incredibly tense. Without anyone reminding him of who he was in real life, it was easier to slip into the role of Natsu. With someone who knew who Dame-Tsuna was, it was suddenly much harder. At least he hadn't called him by that nickname.  
When they reached the safe zone which was yet another clearing, Buzz gave Natsu a look that meant 'explain now, brat'. He got that look quite a few times in the past weeks.  
With a sheepish smile, he explained.  
"He-He is a classmate of mine. I didn't know he was playing the game. That reminds me, how come you are out here Yamamoto-san?"  
The last part was meant for the teen who finally calmed down and downed a potion to regain his lost health. He gave a wry smile which practically screamed fake to the observing Natsu.  
"Ken, that's my player name. And I was simply leveling."  
The answer came with a hollow laugh. in response, Buzz gave him a stern look.  
"More like suicide by fighting way above your league. Your equipment is rubbish and you are way too exhausted for any fighting."  
Slightly scared of the dark look Ken answered with, Natsu tried to break the staredown off.  
"Anyway, we should be heading back soon. Agil must be worried about us. Won't you come with us, Yama-Ken? By the way, I'm called Natsu here, and my friend is Buzz."  
He had to hold back a cringe at the painfully fake smile sent to him, his intuition going haywire. At least Ken agreed to go back with them and Buzz also chose to withhold any more comments.

  
**-0-**

  
As expected Agil was furious with them, when the trio finally made it back to the village, later than originally planned. Since they were in a dungeon they had no way to let him know the reason for the delay. That guy always worries about other players, even though he tries to come through as a tough mercenary who only cares about money.  
Natsu elbowed Takeshi gently as they watched Agil ranting like a mother hen to an exasperatedly blinking Buzz. It comes in handy at times, to be overlooked because he was a kid. Not that he would ever admit it.  
"Want to look around while they bicker?"  
All he got was an owlish look and a mute nod. He supposed the reaction was natural. He was all too aware of how different he acted. In the real world, everything felt dull and he felt restricted. He was afraid of his own shadow, clumsy and friendless. Here the world was bright and he was free.  
It was not strange at all that he preferred being Natsu over Tsuna.

  
**-0-**

  
The two boys explored the little village, doing a few errand quests to kill the time. Natsu tried to raise Ken's spirits, but he could feel the other boy was faking his cheerfulness. It pained Natsu to see his obvious sadness, but nothing he did helped alleviate it.  
After a few hours they returned to their inn, it was promptly decided by Agil that Ken would join them for the time being, at least until he was deemed fit to survive on his own. A little subdued, the curved sword-user agreed, though with Agil's mother hen tendencies the answer 'no' was never a viable option.  
Later, thanks to a good-natured joke from Buzz about "little kids needing their sleep", it was decided to retire for the night.

  
**-0-**

  
It was in the middle of the night when Natsu suddenly woke up, something telling him he was needed somewhere. His instincts haven't steered him wrong yet, so he quickly re-equipped his armor and sword and left his room. Better safe than sorry.  
Reaching the base floor of the inn, he caught Ken leaving. Worried about his classmate, he began to follow him from a distance. The town was deserted, all players were sleeping and the NPCs went back to their homes according to their programming, save for a pair of guards that patrolled the village. He supposed it was for the sake of making this world seem more alive.  
The black-haired teen reached the gate, with Natsu hiding behind a wall, debating whether talk to Ken about what he was doing when a voice stopped both of them.  
"Wait!"  
It was Agil, in black pants and a green shirt calmly walking towards Ken. Natsu could swear he looked in his direction for a moment before leveling his gaze at the other teen.  
The black-haired teen's face was devoid of any emotion, his body tense. He only regarded the older man with an empty gaze, prompting Agil to heave a sigh. He might have grumbled something about reckless kids but he couldn't hear him clearly.  
"What good it will do if you just throw away your life recklessly? Because that's what you're doing. Fighting enemies without any regard for yourself, without any preparation, asking to be overwhelmed. It's no different than suicide."  
Ken gave no outward reaction to the words, only the tightening of his fist gave away that he heard the older man. Natsu was prepared to leave his hiding place when a large hand gripped his shoulder. Looking up, he met the stern gaze of Buzz, silently telling him to stay put.  
Back with the other two, seeing his words having an effect, Agil continued to speak.  
"Don't you think that your life is worth fighting for? To see your family once again? I do. There's not a day that I don't think about my wife and my life outside. That's why I walk forward, even when I am doubting myself "  
Agil walked closer to Ken, who looked up with a lost expression on his face, no longer trying to smile or feign indifference.  
"But...how can you go on?"  
"By not doing it alone. By yourself, It's a huge burden on you, but with comrades, you can walk forward. Natsu, Buzz, and I all have our doubts, our fears, but if we let them control us then that Kayaba won."  
At that Natsu finally walked next to the two of them with Buzz following with a bored look on his face. Natsu couldn't shake the feeling that this conversation awakened in him, his own doubt and fear.  
Instead of trying to force them down, he let them be shown as he started to speak to Ken.  
"Every day... every day I'm afraid. Afraid of dying, of never escaping this scary world. But when I want to give up, to run away I always remember that I'm not alone. Agil, Buzz, and all the ten thousand players who want to wake up from this nightmare, who are giving their all to beat the game. It's not much but I remember the experiences, the laughs we shared to be able to move forward."  
Nobody dared to say a word as the brown-haired boy let out the feelings he had been bottling up for weeks now. All of them were familiar with these thoughts but for Natsu who since a young age wore his heart on his sleeve, these feelings were more profound.  
"I want to go home with everyone else. I want to go home, so I can worry about Hibari-san biting me to death for missing school. So Mom can stop worrying about me. You are the same aren't you, Yamamoto? I think your dad would be very sad if you died here, without even a chance to say goodbye."  
Natsu bowed his head letting his tears flow freely to the ground. His speech was as much for the sake of Ken as for himself, to declare and strengthen his resolve.  
"You win."  
He looked up at the almost silent whisper. Ken faced Natsu was with tears in his eyes and a very small but sincere smile on his face.  
"You win, Natsu-no, Tsuna. If you feel that strongly...guess I can't give up."  
The young boy looked up with a watery smile on his face. To the side, Agil smiled at the teens with a proud look and tears in his eyes. Even Buzz had a few in the corners of his eyes, as he grumbled about angsty teens.

  
**-0-**

  
Of course, things didn't change miraculously. It took a few days, for Ken to find his place in their growing party, but things eventually settled down.  
The four of them leveled up and they came with high spirits when the news came that the boss room was found.  
Natsu couldn't help but grin as he looked around. Agil was a little farther, bantering with a merchant, Buzz was walking forward his mind already focusing on the upcoming conference and Ken was laughing by his side. Natsu still feared what tomorrow will bring but he didn't let it stop him. He might stumble but he had his party members to catch him.  
'Just you wait, Kayaba Akihiko. We will survive, we will win.'

  
**-0-**

  
**? POV**

  
In a secluded spot on the first floor of Aincrad a hole appeared, surrounded by countless ERROR messages. The Cardinal, Aincrad system tried to fight against whatever caused the damage to its systems, but without any success. In a few moments the hole did disappear, Cardinal failing to find it leaving anything behind.  
Not far from there a figure seems to be sitting on a branch of a tree. They seem to twirl some kind of staff in their hands, as they look around in this new world.  
"Ku Ku Ku Ku," they laughed a smirk on their face "let's see, what kind of playground I have found for myself."  
The next moment the figure disappeared only leaving his last words behind.


	3. Level 3The First Boss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first strategy meeting and the first floor battle are finally here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the positive reviews, I will rry to upload the rest of the chapters as soon as possible but I'm finding that I left a ton of mistakes in the first tiem around so it will take time

**Level 3: The First boss**

"Your attention, please."

The forty or so players quickly quieted down when the first boss strategy meeting began. They were sitting in an open auditorium, already forming small groups. Natsu and the others also were there, with Ken and Natsu sitting together, while Buzz and Agil were seated behind them.

The speaker was a blue-haired young man, wearing armor reminiscent of medieval knight armor, a shield strapped to his back. Thanks to his confident demeanor soon everyone was focused on him.

"Thank you. First, my name is Diabel. I consider my job to be a knight."

His words caused others to laugh since unlike other games of the genre there was no class or job system in Sword Art Online. Seeing the tense atmosphere breaking up, Diabel continued to speak.

"I called this meeting in preparation for the first floor's boss battle. Yesterday my party found it in the central dungeon, scouted it out, and marked the location in the map."

Everyone began to talk to each other about this info. Aside from fighting a boss, which was not an easy task according to former beta testers, especially with the new rules, even finding them was a task in and of itself. One month after the opening, the trapped people needed the hope that the defeat of the first-floor boss would bring.

Diabel began to talk about the strategy they would need to use against the boss, Ilfang the Kobold King. They already know that, thanks to the information released by former beta testers, but it was nice to know the information was accurate. As the blue-haired knight was about to continue a loud voice spoke up.

"Wait! I wanna say something!"

The speaker stood at the top of the auditorium, looking down on the other players. He was a man around 30 years old, his armor was a mix of light and dark brown, he had orange hair, its form reminded Natsu of a cactus.

He jumped down, probably in an attempt to look cool, but he wasn't able to get down by one leap, so he clumsily had to correct himself with a few small jumps. He landed on the podium, next to Diabel and turned his black eyes on the gathered players. Natsu felt himself stiffen. A boy, who was bullied for most of his childhood needed to be able to recognize a potential bully. And that man was one, he was sure.

Clearing his throat the man began to speak.

"I'm Kibaou and I want to say something to the beta testers that surely are among us."

The reaction was instant. Diabel's face tightened and everyone began to look warily at each other. Ken tenses his body, hand resting on his sword, Agil gained a grave look and Buzz simply grunted in annoyance.

The hate against beta testers was nothing new. Without Kayaba Akihiko there to blame, a lot of people needed someone to blame who was there to let it out. They were just the most convenient target. Luckily not many knew about Buzz, so they weren't really harassed, yet.

"After the first day, the beta testers simply left behind the others, hogging the best farming grounds, not sharing information with us. They are directly responsible for the two thousand players who already died. Those here should stand before us on their knees begging for forgiveness, giving their gear and money to us."

As Kibaou finished his speech, a lot of people began to talk to each other. Alarmingly a lot of people began to agree with the orange-haired man, calling for the beta testers to answer to their crimes.

Natsu incensed, couldn't take this anymore. Disregarding Ken who tried to calm him down, he stood up, gaming the attention of nearby players. Unknowingly his wíwa gained an orange shade, making him look a little more mature.

"That's not true at all. Many beta testers taught new players to survive, not all of them abandoned the others. This is pointless, they are just as trapped here as we are. We should focus on working together, instead of bickering."

Though there were a few players who seemed to agree with him, no one spoke up for his side. Kibaou only sneered at his words.

"What are you five? Go back to play with your dolls kid, we aren't playing around here? Or are you one of those beta testers that you defend so much?"

Natsu reeled back as if visibly stuck. Before he could fold into himself, a deep voice interrupted.

"If I may interject?"

Agil imposing frame straightened up behind the young swordsman. No matter how kind he was inside, the ax wielder could easily intimidate even grown men. With the glare in his eyes, the set of his shoulders, and the subtle tightening of his hands, Natsu could easily tell, the friendly giant was furious.

While Agil went down with heavy steps towards Kibaou who tried his best not to cower before the man, Natsu wordlessly sat down, eyes downcast. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he looked up to Ken's reassuring smile. He gave back a weak one and watched as the teen turned in the direction of the cactus haired swordsman his smile gained a sharp edge. It reminded Natsu that despite his generally laid back attitude, the black haired teen could also be very scary if prompted.

Looking back to the plaza, he saw Agil standing before Kibaou, with a silent Diabel at the side watching. Staring at the unnerved player for a moment, the deep baritone of the two-handed ax user rang out.

"Let me get this straight. You condemn the beta testers for leaving behind the newer players resulting in their death. That they used the best hunting grounds and the most rewarding quests, excluding the new players. Is that right?"

"Ye-Yes."

Nodding to himself, Agil slowly, with deliberate motions pulled out a little brown book. From his seat, Natsu couldn't read it's cover, but he already knew which book it was. After all, Agil made sure that each of them had one of their own, and knew it's content by heart. The game guide was made by the beta testers who wanted to help the other nine thousand.

"You know this book? It's a strategy guild for new players explaining various game mechanics and tips to train up. It can be bought for free in every NPC shop."

"What about it?" asked back Kibaou with a little uncertainty.

"This guide was made by former beta testers and was made available for anyone who needs it."

Putting the book back into his inventory Agil looked around the gathered players with his stern gaze, silencing anyone who tried to spoke up.

"if you ask me, the only one who could be blamed for all these deaths is the one who imprisoned us here. I'm not here for pointing fingers at each other, I'm here to beat this game."

Some began clapping after hearing Agil's small speech, Natsu one of them and many began to nod in agreement. Seeing things calmed down, Diabel stepped forward, claiming the attention of the players.

"I agree. It's time to put aside our differences and concentrate on the enemy in front of us. The first boss."

He received another round of agreements. Agil nodded to the blue-haired knight before walking back to his group, patting the shoulder of Natsu reassuringly as he sat down. Kibaou also went and sat down next to a small group of players who seemed to know him.

Diabel waited a little to let everyone calm down, before a little manipulation of his menu he pulled out the very same manual that Agil was talking about.

"Illfang, the Kobold Lord. He has four health bars, frequently summons Kobold Sentinels to fight and when his last health bar hits red, his entire move set changes. First, since the group limit is 6 people, let's create those teams, then we can talk about which roles who's group would fill."

With that, the players began to move and converse among themselves. With a quick look towards his friends, Natsu was assured they would stay together. Looking around he saw most of the players came with friends, already forming their groups. Since they needed two more people, he began to look around for someone without a group.

He saw a black-haired boy who looked familiar for some reason sitting next to a cloaked individual a little bit away from the others. He started to get up, to ask them if they wanted to join, but two people walked up to the four friends.

One of them was even taller than Agil, if only with a little, and a lot more round than the ax wielder. He had short black hair, black eyes, and a completely ordinary face. He was wearing heavier armor than most players who showed up, with a shield strapped on his back and a one-handed sword at his side. He didn't look like the brightest guy around, but he also didn't look like a bully like Kibaou.

The other one was as if someone took the big guy, made him short, skinnier, and maybe a few years younger. His hair was a little longer, had a rapier on his side and he had a smile on his face as he approached them, unlike the somewhat blank expression on the larger man. They both looked like twenty-something.

For a morbid second, Natsu thought that someone took two generic NPCs and gave them a few characteristics to make them look different from the rest.

"Hey. My name's Wedge and that's my brother Biggs." said the short one, with a big guy giving a friendly nod."Wanna team up? My brother and I are just by ourself and most of these guys came here in a full group. But you look like you still a few members short."

The four of them looked at each other. Natsu thought they were friendly enough, so he had no problem with them joining. Ken only offered a shrug, he seemed to be alright with either way. Agil looked contemplative but didn't see against it. In the end, it was Buzz, who made the decision.

"Not seeing any reason to say no. We need a good tank anyway, to help out Agil. Welcome, I guess.

Name's Buzz. The big guy is Agil, the black-haired kid is Ken and the squirt is Natsu."

Natsu's indignant cry was ignored as they all greeted Biggs and Wedge. They were invited to their group and Biggs sat next to Agil, while Wedge sat on Natsu's unoccupied side. As they looked up they saw that almost everyone formed a group of their own, so Diabel once again stepped forward, to move things forward.

They talked for a while about strategies, but in truth, not much was accomplished. Even if they had the beta testers' information they had only found the boss room in the maze. In a situation where no one had seen the boss' face, a strategy could not be made. It was too risky to rely completely on the information from the beta.

At the end of the meeting, the knight Diabel raised his voice, and let out a huge roar to the participants. Natsu, Ken, and Wedge shouted with enthusiasm, even Agil and Biggs raised their arm for a show of unity, while Buzz simply sat there, deep in thought. After a short „Dismissed", people began to leave, talking among themselves or going for the NPC shops.

-0-

After the meeting, the newly named Team Natsu (Ken was to name it, Agil agreed with Biggs and Wedge and Buzz didn't care enough, much to Natsu's embarrassment) retreated to the town's inn accompanied by Biggs and Wedge. They spent dinner talking about strategies for the upcoming fight. Eventually, they retired for the night, sharing rooms in pairs. Natsu naturally bunked with Ken.

Yet despite his high spirits during the day, Natsu was unable to find sleep. Abandoning the notion of resting, the young teen walked out into the room's balcony, marveling at the nightlife of Tolbana.

He sat there contemplating until his thoughts were interrupted.

"Can't sleep?"

Ken walked out of their room in casual clothes much like Natsu. His face was set in a worried frown as he gazed at the restless teen.

In answer, Natsu let out a sigh.

"Something like that. Or more like the battle tomorrow has me restless."

"How so?"

Natsu placed his eyes on the night sky or rather the virtual rendition of the ceiling of the first floor. He thought of all the possible outcomes for tomorrow. The consequences for himself, for his friends, and the rest of the players.

"I'm scared. No matter how hard we prepared for this, there are too many variables. What if our information is wrong? What if our tactics won't work? What if something happens and we lose? If we lose even one player, this could be the last attempted raid of SAO. What happens then? What happens if we discover that SAO is impossible to clear?"

"We will fight on."

Natsu gave a shocked look to the black-haired teen. Ken stared where the sky should be, his face set in stone, his black eyes glinting with determination. This the most serious Natsu ever saw the usually laid-back boy.

Finally, Ken looked at him, letting out a small, sincere smile.

"You were the one who told me not to give up. To reunite with my father, to survive. I'll fight and not just for myself. For you, Agil, Buzz, everybody."

It may have been a trick of the light, but Ken's black eyes seemed to be blue. It only gave much more weight to his words.

"If you alone are not enough, it will be alright. I will be your sword. I will fight for you, I will fight at your side. I will follow you, because I believe in you, Tsuna."

The brown-haired boy tried to wipe away the tears that sprang on him, in vain. Finally getting his hiccups under control, he faced Ken.

"Then let's watch each other back. Deal, Takeshi?"

His answer came with a large smile and soon the two boys were sleeping, their hearts a lot lighter.

Then came the day of the raid.

-0-

Forty-four players were gathered at the Fountain Square in Tolbana. Being the youngest and the shortest Natsu felt a bit out of place, but a look in the direction of his friends helped calm him. Yes, they can do this. They have to do this.

The blue-haired knight Diabel stood in front of at the edge of the fountain, raising his voice, and said,

"Everyone, although it may be sudden, thank you all. I am really grateful that all forty-four of the party members have gathered, without a single missing person."

After talking, a loud cheer of „OH" shook up the entire square. It was followed by waterfall-like applause. Natsu cast away his doubts and raised his hands to clap.

After smiling at everyone, the knight pumped his right fist and continued shouting.

"Now I will say, I was thinking of aborting this mission if a single person didn't turn up! But this kind of worry is an insult to everyone. I'm very happy that we got the very best raid party, even if the numbers are not enough for a full one.

A few people laughed and whistled, and some people pumped their right hands mimicking him. Natsu looked around, gauging the other players' reactions. Most were swept up with the knight's charisma, in high spirits and smiling. Others like Agil and Buzz looked stern, arms folded in front of their chest. Others like Ken and Wedge only had an easy-going smile on their face but remained calm.

As everyone yelled about, Diabel raised both hands to suppress the cheering.

"Everyone. What I want to say now is this!"

His right hand moved to his left hip, and he pulled out his silvery sword with a loud sound-

"...Let's win!"

A loud cry rang out, reminiscent of the day about four weeks ago, in the central square of the Starting City when ten thousand players screamed. But with a completely different feel to it.

-0-

It took the raid party about two hours to reach the labyrinth and make it to the top floor, where the boss room resided. As much as the players would have liked otherwise, it was not a pleasant trip. They were ambushed around three times and luckily they suffered no casualties. It was thanks to the leadership of Diabel, and that no one freaked out, which Buzz said after the second ambush that mainly targeted their group, is a miracle in and of itself since most of the players here never experienced a raid in SAO or anything like it.

When they reached the doors, Natsu let out a slight sigh of relief. Now comes the hard part, he thought, but at least they are here. On the surface of the grey stone, was a relief of a terrifying beast headed monster.

As he gazed at the picture of the boss they would face, Natsu thought of the small lecture that Buzz gave out, shortly before they headed out.

"in most other MMO games these mobs were usually the weakest of the weak, but in SAO Beta this Demi-Human class of humanoid beings were formidable foes." said Buzz, ignoring the curious faces of Biggs and Wedge." It had the ability to wield weapons such as swords and axes, and could even use sword skills. Compared to a normal attack, it had much higher speed, power, and even more powerful combos. If a player was caught in a defenseless position, even its elementary skill could cause a critical hit, and reduce the HP gauge drastically. Just be careful, don't do anything stupid and everything will be alright."

It was a tense silence as they waited to form a proper line-up. The group was designated from A to H. E, F, G, and the two-person H group's responsibility was to hold back and defeat the Ruin Kobold Sentinels that the boss periodically summoned. Natsu and their group, group B purpose to attack the boss mostly from the left flank. With Agil, Biggs, and Buzz in front, they had to tank any attacks that come toward them, while Ken, Wedge, and Natsu were naturally on DPS duty.

When everyone found their place, Diabel lifted his silver long sword high and gave a large nod. The forty-three raid members also raised their weapons and nodded in reply.

With a short cry, he pushed the doors open with all his might. The battle had begun.

-0-

Later, when he thought back Natsu couldn't tell very much about the battle. In his mind, the room, the boss's appearance remained very clear, but the battle itself? Save for the last part it was a blur to the brown-haired boy.

The room was in one word large. Its width from the left to the right wall was about twenty meters. Plus it was quite rectangular. There was a distance of about one hundred meters from the entrance to the back. The stone floor and walls were filled with cracks. Large and small skulls were variously placed to decorate the place. In the deepest part of the room stood a huge throne, and a rough silhouette of something large sat on it.

Natsu had to stifle a cry when he saw the figure, and he was not the only one. Quite a few of the, up until now, confident players suddenly looked not so sure if they were meant to be here. At his side, he saw Wedge grip his sword anxiously.

The demi-human boss, Illfang the Kobold Lord, looked exactly as Buzz described. Its muscular body over two meters tall, covered in blue-gray fur. Its bloodthirsty eyes flashed a golden red. Its right hand wielded an ax made of bone, while its left had a Leather Buckler equipped. Behind its waist, a meter and half long Talwar stuck out. Next to his head appeared four full health bars.

As the raid party neared him, Illfang jumped down from his throne and let out a wolf-like cry. As if that sound was a signal, out of various holes located high up on the sidewalls, three heavily armed monsters jumped down. These were the guards, Ruin Kobold Sentinel. Group E led by Kibaou, and the supporting Group G, quickly moved towards the three, locking onto their targets.

With the sentinels held back, the four main groups attacked the boss. Group A attacked front, from left their group and on the right Diabel lead the attack, while group D waited in reserve. The tanks and attackers traded places according to the discussed tactic and fortunately, they held their lines.

Of course, there were some close calls. During the depletion of the second health bar, due to a misstep Ken was left exposed to one of the Kobold King's swiping attacks and was hurled to the wall, his hp down to the yellow zone. Natsu was almost caught in the same attack if not for a fast save thanks to Biggs. As he ran to his friend to make sure he is alright and defend him if some of the Sentinels tried to attack the dizzy swordsman, group D filled the holes they left behind. He quickly made Ken drink a health potion and as soon as he was healed up, they rejoined the battle against the boss who was already losing rapidly his third health bar.

As they began to get closer to the boss's fourth health bar, groups F and G joined the main force, relieving some of the tiring players, despite how much a good time they were making. With a few words from Buzz, their team readied themselves, so they would not be taken by surprise by the change in the flow of battle that would happen when they reach the last bar.

Finally, the third bar was removed by the pole weapons of Group F and G before they retreated. Instead of waiting for their full recovery, Group C rushed in to press the attack.

Illfang gave out a roar. At the same time, the final wave of three Sentinels jumped out of holes in the walls. The Kobold Lord, threw his weapons, the ax, and the shield, down onto the ground simultaneously, gave another roar, brought its hand to the back of its waist, grasped the rag bound handle, and pulled out the Talwar.

Natsu didn't know much about swords before starting the game and even now, his knowledge was nothing to talk about, so when the boss raised his right hand, he couldn't tell that something was wrong with the weapon. But he could feel it. The same warmth that saved his life in this world more than once, urging him to do something, flared up once again. He could hear someone shouting something from the back, but it was drowned out, he could see Buzz face pale, mouth opening to shout something. Then his body began to move.

Illfang's huge body shook the floor, as it jumped up high. It turned its body in mid-air while accumulating power to its weapon. As it fell down, it used the accumulated power, releasing a crimson beam of light.

After a long, silent moment six bright red light effects erupted, like pillars of blood. Yellow lights rotated around the heads of six people that had collapsed on the floor in the aftermath of the skill. They were stunned.

As he ran towards the immobilized players, he saw in the corner of his eyes as Agil and Ken began to run after him, but there was too much distance between them.

The demi-human roared, and his weapon in both its hands was lifted off the cut floor and raised high. His movements were much more different than what they prepared for. It was aimed at the player that had fallen right in front of it, Diabel. As if pulled by a red arc of light, the knight in silver armor was sent flying up high. The damage didn't seem very high. However, the Kobold Lord's movement didn't stop there.

Using its large wolf-like mouth, it grinned and laughed ferociously.

Its blade was once again wrapped in a red light effect. As the knight, once again stunned, fell with a thud, Illfang's weapon began to descend at a rapid space. It looked like a butcher about to slice apart a piece of meat and with the power that attack was coming, there was no doubt it would take away the rest of Diabel's HP. If it connected.

Even Diabel closed his eyes, accepting his fate. When he didn't feel anything for a few seconds, he opened his eyes and immediately widened them. In front of the fallen knight stood Natsu, blocking the boss's attack. He felt as if sweat was dropping down on his brows, despite his virtual body, as he held onto his sword with two hands, trying to keep his stance stable.

For a moment or two, it seemed to work, but then with a horrible sound, his trusty sword broke to pieces. Not having anything else in its way, the attack finally connected with the boy who was sent flying. When he finally dropped down, he couldn't help but groan in pain. Thankfully his HP was almost full, so he survived, but even that attack sent him straight to the red zone.

Illfang stood still for a few seconds, affected by the cooldown. Diabel, finally able to move, risen to a knee, sword steadily held in front of him. By the time the Kobold King tried to attack once again, it was blindsided when Agil reached him and with an almost bestial roar attacked, Biggs hot on his heels. They were soon joined by the black-haired swordsman and his cloaked partner.

Natsu saw none of that. He laid on the ground, trying to get up without success. He was hurt a few times in the past month, but never this much. And he was still unused to this virtual pain that he felt anytime he suffered damage. He had trouble breathing properly and for a moment Natsu began to panic. Was he going to die? Was he going to leave everyone behind? Leave Ken? Agil? Buzz? Mom?

Before he could panic anymore, he felt someone grab his shoulder, holding him in place, and stuck something in his mouth. He began to gulp down the sour liquid, remembering the not so nice taste of the healing potion instantly. Opening his eyes, he found his eyesight blurry, still, he could make out the worried face of Ken kneeling beside him.

"Come on Natsu. Don't give up." he murmured worriedly, in his eyes the same fear reflecting that he felt.

Vision clearing, he turned his head a little, finding Ken kneeling before him and Wedge, rapier drawn facing the direction of the fight. In the corner of his eyes, he saw his HP bar slowly replenishing.

In the distance, he could hear Buzz's shouts over the fighting.

"Don't just stand there! Forward! Push back the boss! Protect the injured! HOLD YOUR LINE!"

It took a little time, but the potion worked and Natsu finally felt like he was able to get up. Ken assisted him to stand up, while his right hand opened up his menu. Scrolling through his inventory, he equipped another sword, sadly no match for his previous one, but it would have to do. He noted that Wedge left them, helping out Group E while another wave of Sentinels hit them.

But by the time he finally gets up and was ready to fight, the battle ended. Aided by Agil and the others, the black-haired swordsman and his partner, who turned out to be a brown-haired girl, was able to reduce the HP of the boss to finally zero.

The Kobold Lord's gigantic frame, suddenly lost its strength, staggering backward. Aincrad's first floor's boss, Illfang the Kobold Lord's body shattered into millions of fragments and scattered in all directions.

There was barely any who dared to break the silence. Most players were just standing there exhausted, not believing that the battle finally ended. Agil, Biggs, and the few others who ran forward to help end the boss once for all sat by the wall, a little dazed, trying to catch their breath. The duo who dealt the last attack stood a little farther.

Natsu walked up to Agil, Ken worriedly at his side, and sent a questioning look to the ax wielder. He only looked over Natsu, relieved to see him fine, his weapon still gripped in his hands. Everyone waited in anticipation, not knowing what would happen next.

Suddenly before Natsu, a window popped up, showing the experience, gold, and items gained from the boss fight. A quick look around confirmed that similar windows appeared around all players of the raid party. After a brief look, he dismissed the window, a smile overtaking his face. Soon a loud cheer rang out, followed by many more.

Some people threw both hands up in the air. Some embraced their comrades. Some danced nonsensically. Natsu felt Ken give him a one-armed hug, a wide grin on his face.

"We did it!" he said in wonder.

Agil let out a hearty laugh and patted the two boys on the head. Like them, he was also smiling like there was no tomorrow. After a soft „Be careful next time" he went to congratulate other players.

Natsu suddenly felt someone grab his collar and giving him a not so painful wedgie. He still let out a yelp and pouted up at the perpetrator. It was Buzz, who despite the general cheer was scowling down at him.

"Of all the idiotic things you could do, you decide to jump in the way of a floor boss's combo attack?! Have you lost your mind? Never try something this foolish again, you hear me?"

As the man ranted Natsu bowed his head. He knew what he did was reckless, but he felt like he had to do it. To save Diabel, to save a comrade. He looked up when he felt a hand pat his shoulder. Buzz was no longer scowling, he looked more tired than anything else.

"Good job, kid," he said softly, before turning away.

Natsu let out a small smile at that. The celebration of the victorious raid group would have gone for a while, but everyone was interrupted by an angry shout.

"You!"

The shouter was a man in light armor, a scimitar user of the C group, one of Diabel's friends. He discarded his helmet showing a bald head and little, angry, black eyes. Two of his comrades stayed with the recovering knight, but two of them stood behind him.

He was pointing at the surprised looking black haired swordsman who was in the middle of talking to Agil. After everyone turned towards them to see what's going on, the man continued to speak.

"Because you, we almost died!"

The swordsman in question and almost everyone else murmured to themselves, not understanding what was he talking about.

"Because of me?" murmured the swordsman in confusion.

"That's right! Because... Because you knew the skills the boss used, didn't you? If you gave us that information from the start, all of us and especially Diabel wouldn't have come so close to dying!"

Most disturbingly, his words awaked something in the raiders. They soon began to murmur amongst each other. "Now that you mention it..." "How? It wasn't even written in the strategy guide..." Such voices were born and gradually spread across the room. Natsu uncomfortably looked at Ken, whose smile considerably dimmed as he surveyed the room.

The orange-haired man, Kibaou stepped front, eying the swordsman and those who stood near him.

"He must be a beta tester! He knew the boss's attack pattern, good hunting spots, everything. And he híd it from us. He went for the last attack bonus, to get ahead of us."

Strangely the members of Diabel's and Kibaou's group didn't seem to be surprised. It was as if they were already aware that the boy was a former beta tester. But how, thought Natsu, when the identities of the betas were carefully protected by the testers themselves?

The tenseness of the room was almost palpable. The previously joyful atmosphere was no more, the united raid party slowly began to fall apart.

Natsu felt like something needed to be done, or the hate towards the beta testers would only make going forward that much harder. He tried to placate the angry, hateful players.

"Think about it for a second. The strategy guide was written with information gained by the beta period, right? That means his knowledge is the same as the guide, the same as our own. He only came forward to help the collapsing front of our group. He is here to help up, nobody died and we won. What does anything else matter right now?"

Several players remained silent, looking unsure in the face of logical facts. The black-haired swordsman remained silent, staring at the players who started this whole debate.

Kibaou spluttered, trying to come up with a response that didn't sound dumb. Instead, the member from Diabel's band of friends, who first spoke up, answered.

"That strategy guide was a lie. Argo's information shop was selling lies. That person was a beta tester, after all, there's no way she would have given us the truth for free."

Things were spiraling out of control. These guys couldn't be reasoned with, Natsu thought, but if they don't stop now, the victory over the first boss will mean nothing. They wouldn't be united enough to move forward.

"These idiots," grumbled Buzz next to Natsu, spear in hand and subtly readying himself for the possible fight."Of all the times, why do they need to do this now? Nobody died, we won. Why ruin our victory with this?"

Unfortunately, Buzz was not the only one in their circle of friends to think that there would be a fight. Ken's posture was tense as he slowly angled his body in a way that he stood before Natsu and the larger group of players. Even Wedge gripped his sword's handle nervously at the boy's other side, giving him a questioning look.

"What's the plan little boss?" he asked at last.

Natsu was shocked. Usually, people would look at Agil, or Buzz to tell them what to do, not him. He was a little kid, nobody took him seriously as shown at the strategy meeting. Someone asking him what to do was definitely new.

Before he could answer, all eyes moved towards the accused swordsman. He stepped away from his partner and Agil, he looked emotionless, as if he found this whole thing meaningless. He eyed the scimitar user with apathy, who suddenly looked a little nervous, before carelessly shrugging.

"Beta tester, was it? Don't lump me together with those amateurs." a shocked silence overcome the players gathered in the boss room. "Listen here and remember this. SAO's Closed Beta Test had a ridiculously low pass rate for the lottery draw. Out of the one thousand people, how many real MMO gamers do you think got selected? Most of them were at most hobby players who didn't even know methods of leveling properly. You guys here are much better than that lot. But, I'm not like those guys" he ended his tirade with a sneer.

No one could say a word. Natsu searched the black haired teen's face, feeling as if there was something wrong with what he said. Buzz's eyes widened slightly as if he figured out something. Diabel still sitting looked on without expression and Kibaou and a few others looked angrier and angrier.

"During the beta test, I reached floors that no other player could dream to reach. I know everything about the Katana Skills the boss used since I was used to fighting mobs that used katanas from a floor way higher. I learned about the game even more than Argo could ever hope so."

There were shocked gasps from the players. Even after a month, the information provided by the rat was worth its price. The idea that he could know the game better than the infamous broker…

"That's no longer on the level of a beta tester. That's cheating, you are just a cheater! A beater!" came the hoarse voice of Kibaou who looked with hatred at the black-haired teen.

Soon others began to test out this new name, the mix of beta tester and cheater. As the universal hatred began to overcame most of the raid party, the teen let out a quiet laugh.

"Beater…that has a good ring to it." he looked around and said with a clear voice. "Exactly, I am a Beater. From now on, please do not lump me together with those former testers."

Natsu watched in silence with the others as he equipped a long, black leather coat and with a flourish turned around and began to leave.

"I'll go on and activate the second floor's transfer gate. From the exit up there it will be a short walk to the district town."

As the swordsman walked away, Natsu suddenly felt as if his picture of him began to clear. This player placed on himself a target so large, that everyone will focus on him, instead of other testers. By naming himself as a beater, Buzz and other testers would face a lot less discrimination for their status. Natsu didn't think he could ever do something so brave, so selfless. He sent a silent thank you towards him.

Their group slowly eased their tense bodies. Buzz let out a silent sigh of relief and Wedge let out a light chuckle. Agil and Biggs walked closer to them, the brothers slowly began talking with each other. The ax user was deep in thought but still, he gave Natsu a small smile and said with a voice full of relief.

"It's finally over. We won."

-0-

As the group walked away no one was aware that Diabel was eying them, with a strange light in his eyes.

"I found you,' he murmured, a creepy smile on his face as he stared intently at Natsu."Let's play a game, Little Vongola."

-0-

"You're leaving?"

Natsu blinked in shock looking at the pair before him.

After the battle, their group walked up to the second floor a little after the black swordsman, Kirito, Natsu learned his name from Agil, left. They went to the city and were met with all the curious players who teleported there after the gate was activated. They soon booked rooms in the inn not far from the gate and went to sleep.

Refreshed and with high spirits, the,y sat down to eat the next morning, only for Wedge to tell them that he was leaving with Biggs.

They sat around a table, with the pair in question sitting in front of Natsu. Biggs had his usual, stoic face on, while Wedge scratched his head with a sheepish smile on his face.

"Yeah." he said at last „You guys are cool, but me and my bro are used to working with just the two of us. And you are also a close bunch, so we thought it's time we go our way." At the worried look Natsu still wore, he was sure to add this. „Of course, come the next boss fight, we will be happily standing at your side. But till then we will walk our own path."

They remained silent for a little while before Ken let out a light chuckle. When everyone looked at him, he gave a wide smile.

"No worries. You do your thing and when we team up again, Team Natsu will be undefeatable with the illustrious duo of Biggs and Wedge."

Everyone let out smiles at that, ignoring the indignant squeak of Natsu who still didn't like the team name before Agil spoke up.

"Well, Ken said what was needed to be said. Stay safe, both of you."

The brothers nodded at this before after a short goodbye they stood up to leave. For the last time, Wedge ruffled Natsu's hair.

"See you later, little boss," he said before he began to leave with Biggs.

Biggs, who up until now was silent spoke up with a surprisingly soft voice.

"It was a pleasure," he said with a small smile on his face.

Before they could leave, Buzz spoke up.

"If you in trouble, you can where you can reach us," he said, to the outside observer without a care in the world.

The duo gave a nod back in answer, then they left. Natsu looked after them for a little while, deep in thought. He was a little surprised when he felt Agil's hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, they will be fine," he said with a smile, and after a nod from the boy, he continued. „We should get going too. No sense in letting such a fine day waste away."

With that Team, Natsu also left the inn and began their trek to the fields next to the town. As they walked and joked with each other, Natsu briefly eyed the sky or rather the ceiling of the floor.

'One down, ninety-nine to go. There's still hope. We will get out.'


	4. Level 4 The Rat and the Plant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing a few new charachters and of course a continuation of the trials of Sawada Nana.

**Episode Nana**

"Here you go."

Sawada Nana accepted the tea with a tired smile on her face. The always cheerful housewife looked nothing she did a little over a month ago. She had heavy bangs under her very red eyes, her face was pale and she looked disheveled. One month ago, her only son was trapped in a death game and all she could do was watch over her darling without able to do anything.

Yamamoto Tsuyoshi sat down next to her with an equally tired sigh. Like her, the sushi restaurant owner looked haggard and tired. His son, a classmate of her Tsu-kun was also trapped in that game, but thankfully both of them were alright for the moment.

Out of Namimori, there were 25 children and 14 adults who were victims of that sick game and now, after a month there were only 21 children and 5 adults who remained 'alive'. The odds were not looking good, especially because the government or anyone really was unable to free the ten thousand people who were prisoners of Sword Art Online.

After the first few days, they created an efficient routine. Nana and a few other housewives usually remained in the hospital, standing vigil, since they did not have immediate work to do, while Tsuyoshi and the others went to work. The man always was the first to arrive back, usually with some sushi for Nana to eat. They helped out each other, trying to keep up with each others' spirits. It helped a lot while she waited for Iemitsu to come back.

As soon as she could gather herself together she called her husband about the fate of their son. While at first, she couldn't reach him, she was able to eventually talk to him. He was just as distraught as her and promised her that he would join her as soon as he could, talking about calling in favors and trying to find someone to help. And while it was a month since he told her that, he made sure to call her every day asking about their darling son.

"Guess no news is good news, right?" the forced cheer of Tsuyoshi broke her thoughts, refocusing her attention on the older man.

"One can only hope." she answered, unable to voice any hopeful thought after such a stressful month. She still remembered the day before when a girl not much older than her son unexpectedly died, her parents screaming in grief over her body. That night she dreamed the same happen to her son.

Before they could continue the conversation, a small commotion gained their attention, when a large man runs into the room, out of breath.

He was an Italian man with short, blonde hair wearing a black suit. Nana immediately stood up recognizing the man, and with teary eyes, she ran up to him.

"Iemitsu!" she cried, embracing him.

"Nana." answered the man as he held his wife.

Tsuyoshi slowly eased his stance, seeing that the man was just Nana's husband instead of anyone else. While the couple reunited he silently signed the worried hospital staff that nothing was wrong. After a few minutes, they separated, Nana still crying slightly.

"You're here. You're really here."

"I'm here darling." soothed his wife Iemitsu. "Sorry for the wait. I promise everything will be alright."

They conversed softly for a while before Nana seemed to calm down. They walked back to Tsuyoshi, where the two men greeted each other. While Iemitsu had not spent much time in Namimori, they met a few times. Nana sat down, tired, but she had a small hopeful smile on her face. Iemitsu also sat down, one arm around her while he turned to Yamamoto.

"Tsuyoshi, you also have somebody here too?" he asked, trying to be sensitive considering the matter at hand.

"My son, Takeshi." came the solemn reply.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Hopefully, both of our sons will come out none the worse for wear." said the Italian man, gaining a thankful nod back.

They have fallen silent once again, Iemitsu deep in his thoughts, trying to give form to what he wanted to say. Nana basked in her husband's presence, for the first time since she was told what happened to her son she felt hopeful that everything will be alright. Her husband always had that calming effect on her as if she was finally home.

"Nana." said Iemitsu, gaining the attention of his wife. He seemed to contemplate what to say before he began to talk. "I was not idle this past month. Thanks to my work, I had several acquaintances who moved to different parts of society. I called in a lot of favors, to find someone, something to get Tsuna out of that game."

Tsuyoshi narrowed his eyes, feeling a little suspicious, last he heard from Nana Iemitsu was a construction worker, but for the aging sushi chief several things didn't add up. Still, he remained silent, letting Iemitsu continue.

"I managed to reach a brilliant scientist named Verde. You wouldn't have heard of him, he goes under four different names in scientific communities. The point is, a friend of mine called in a favor he owed to him, to look into this Sword Art Online." he let out a sigh, running his free hand through his hair. "The not so good news that this will take time. According to him, the system is very protected and somehow modifying itself to protect itself from outside. It will take time, but if someone could crack this, Verde will do it."

Nana could only stare wide-eyed, daring to hope, while Tsuyoshi was more skeptical. There were already many people trying to outsmart Kayaba Akihiko's deathtrap. Time was also against them, with every day more and more people could die, including Takeshi and Tsuna.

Iemitsu seemed to share his concerns because he still had a troubled look on his face.

"There's one more thing." he continued to explain. "I'm not an expert on this, but as I understood from Verde's explanation there was a small gap in the system, he says it's named Cardinal. We were able to log someone into the game. Soon after the Cardinal repaired the 'hole', but the one we sent, a subordinate of mine, successfully arrived into the 'world' where Tsuna and the other victims are."

"What use is sending someone else to die in that…trap?" exclaimed Tsuyoshi, cutting of Iemitsu. He couldn't understand what such a thing would accomplish.

Iemitsu stared down the older man, his eyes deadly serious. The battle of wills was broken by Nana, who lightly tapped on her husband's arm, wide eyes asking silently 'Why?'.

The man's face softened almost instantly and he took her hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"The one we sent in, Basil is actually a very talented swordsman. The hope is that he can use his knowledge to be able to protect himself and Tsuna in the game. I would trust my own life with him. They will be fine."

Nana could only offer a half-relieved smile at her husband before embracing him. Soon the tired housewife was out like lightning, her exhaustion finally worn her will out. The two men eyed each other for a few minutes before Tsuyoshi stood up. He took one look at the sleeping Nana before he turned towards Iemitsu.

"She was barely able to hold on these past days. Make sure she eats because I don't know when she ate last. Take care of them, both of them. They need you." said the man and walked away, leaving behind the married couple.

Iemitsu eyed the door leading towards his son's room with resolution in his eyes. He tightened his grip on his wife, his eyes took an orange hue.

"They will always have me. I swear it on my dying will." gave the man his silent oath, to protect his family.

-0-

**Level 4: The rat and the plant**

"How's the new blade working out?"

Natsu let out a non-committal hum at Agil as he made a few practice swings with his weapon. After Illfang shattered his previous blade, the weighed iron blade, he needed a replacement that could hold up for the second floor. Thankfully they were able to buy one, a tempered bronze sword which was only a little worse than his previous weapon. Hopefully, a better one would drop from a monster, or a quest soon.

"Could be better. I'm still trying to get used to a much lighter blade."

Ken and Buzz were not far from them, battling with a couple of Wind Wasps, probably the smallest mob in the game at only fifty centimeters in length. Natsu honestly freaked out when he first saw one of them, it was bigger than any other insect he ever saw and scarily lifelike. Ken and Buzz worked well together as well as Agil and Natsu. A tank and a damage dealer, they could hunt down most mobs easily in pairs.

It was about a week since the first-floor boss fight, and the newly dubbed cleaners were making good progress. Most of the floor was mapped already, so it would take only a small while till the boss room is found.

Thinking about the fight a week ago, Natsu can't help but ask.

"Do you think Kirito-san will be okay?"

Agil thought about the black-haired swordsman who was all too happy to have almost all the players aim their hate at him. Not even a week, and the term 'beater' was already in common use among players.

"That guy…Probably. He knows what he's doing. And if he ever goes over his head…well we can always help him out, right?"

Natsu lets out a happy smile in response and with his conscience clear, he went back to fighting the respawned wind wasps with a renewed vigor. Seeing this Agil can't help but laugh slightly, before hefting his ax and joining the young boy.

A while later, Buzz walks up to them with a serious expression on his face. Ken is a step behind him, the sword resting in his shoulder, with a confused look.

"What is it?" asks Natsu who was first to notice the two walking up to them.

Buzz seems to ponder for a second, trying to decide what to say. In the end, he goes with the way that always worked. The blunt one.

"It's Argo. It's sounded urgent."

-0-

Argo. Most commonly known as the Rat.

She was **the** information broker. Do you need info? She will get it for you for the right price of course. The death game only started a little more than a month ago, yet her information network is already up and running. Rumor has it, she would sell her grandmother for money if she could. Natsu had to disagree with this rumor.

He met with Argo once, a few days before the first boss battle. From that time he was able to tell, that yes, she was greedy, loved to tease him to hell but she was also honorable in her own way and had a kind heart.

She was also a former beta tester, who knew Buzz from the beta. Buzz told him, they weren't exactly friends, more like they had a 'she is useful, he is useful' kind of relationship. It went right above Natsu's and Ken's head, making Buzz laugh about naive brats.

The most puzzling thought was, that she rarely needed any help, so for her to request Buzz's and by extension, their help, ought to be interesting.

The meeting place was a little inn, in the second floor's city, Urbus. It was quite far away from the teleport gate, so very few players frequented the place. And if there was one thing Argo valued it was her privacy. Hers, not others.

For the sake of efficiency, especially considering the next boss fight would be any day now, only Buzz and Natsu went to the meeting. Ken and Agil stayed to farm for materials to upgrade their weapons.

Natsu walked in behind Buzz, seeing only an NPC waitress standing at the bar, and a lone figure sitting in a corner, drinking a cup of water. The figure instead of being Argo, was the now infamous beater, Kirito wearing his Cloak of Midnight. Looking up and meeting the duo's eyes he gave a half-hearted wave.

Before he could great the swordsman, Natsu felt a pair of arms hug him from behind, the back of his head meeting something soft. His face reddening tried to broke free from his captor's grip but to no avail.

"Na-kun, still cute as ever!"

The cooing above his head didn't help him calm down, neither the amused faces of the other two men. Eventually resigning to his fate, he ceased his thrashing, letting his captor get their 'cuddle time'.

When he was finally released, he quickly híd behind the quietly snickering Buzz, leveling an accusing glare to the new arrival. And he did not pout. At all.

"Was that necessary, Argo-san?"

She was a girl on the short side, still a little taller than Natsu and she wore a brown cloak that híd everything, except for the 3 lines on each of her cheek, the source of her nickname, the Rat, and her Cheshire grin. Taking a step into the inn, she threw back her hood revealing short blonde hair and green eyes.

"What did you say? I didn't hear you."

As the information broken continued to tease him, Natsu's face began to imitate a tomato. At their first meeting, the girl quickly demanded that he could only call her Argo-chan. Not an easy task for the boy who seldom talked to a girl or called then –chan.

"A-Argo-ch-chan…"

Her grin widening, Argo opened her mouth to continue to tease the poor boy, but a loud cough caused her to look a still far too amused Buzz's direction.

"Not that it's not funny, but you did call us here for a reason."

Face quickly turning serious, Argo nodded and led the three of them to Kirito's table. They sit down, ordered from the waitress beverages, then all eyes landed on Argo. She seemed to mull over, debating what to tell them, before finally speaking.

"I did call you for a reason. There's a particular rumor that I need help to investigate."

With this, all three of them sat straight and looked seriously at Argo. She was notorious to work by herself, rarely using others to verify the information. For her to need help, it sounds serious.

The first to school his face was Kirito who had a hand n his chin as he thought out loud.

"What is it you need help with? All three of us relatively high leveled and two of us are former beta testers. Is it some kind of field boss, or some surprise left by Kayaba?"

But Argo shook her head, making it obvious Kirito was on a wrong thought.

"Not exactly. I asked for your help because I trust you more than others. For Na-kun the second reason is that he is connected to the rumor."

Blinking in astonishment, Natsu ignored the questioning looks from Kirito and Buzz and simply asked Argo.

"How am I connected? And you didn't even tell us what the rumor is in the first place."

"To tell you the truth, there are two different rumors, but I think they are connected. Listen up, at the Monument of Life, there is a new name."

At that, all three of them let out shocking sounds. The monument of life was placed on the Black Iron Palace in Starting City in place of the respawn room in the beta and the monument contained the name of every player along with the date and reason for death if they are dead. It was confirmed after the first player's death.

After they digested the information, Kirito shook his head lightly as if to clear it, before asking Argo.

"Are you sure there are more names than before? Do you know which one? When it got there?"

"I checked it myself. There are 10001 player names recorded in the Monument of Life. Also because the names are sorted in alphabetical and the new name sticks out like a sore tomb at the very end of the list. When it got there? From what I learned it appeared between one week before the first boss battle and the day after it. And the mysterious name is Basil."

As he listened, Natsu tried to wrestle with the strange mix of elation and dread in his chest. Someone got in after the Death Game was launched. Who and how? If there a way to log people in, isn't there a way to log out? Why are they still here? And who is this Basil and what does he have to do with this?

Buzz who was silently listening let out a huff of air, face serious as he turned to Argo.

"Could it be Kayaba Akihiko or someone under him? Maybe to observe us? Could he be among us?"

As he began to talk, his voice became louder and louder, almost shouting. With his face red, looking almost accusing, the spear user stared Argo down.

Before the broker could answer, the black swordsman cut in, his face solemn, his voice calm and controlled.

"I highly doubt it. It was too easy to find out. This Basil or whoever logged him in didn't really try to conceal this new player. My gut says something else is going on."

Argo gave a small smile in thanks to Kirito before manipulating her menu, and soon everyone's system pinged, alerting them to a message from Argo. It contained a screenshot, showing a boy around Natsu's age, with dirty blond hair and blue eyes, and at first, glance looks Italian. His fringe covers his right eye. He wore the simple leather starting gear, with a one-handed sword on his back. The picture seems to be taken in a town.

As he studied the picture, Natsu was surprised that the mysterious new player was a kid his age. Looking at the others, he saw both Kirito and Buzz with a puzzled frown on their faces. After letting them study the picture, Argo began to talk once again.

"One of my contacts found him in Talbot, where the first boss strategy meeting was held, around 3 days ago. He sent me this screenshot after he spoke with him. According to him, this Basil seems like a newbie from how little he knew about how MMORPGs work and spoke a rather old form of Japanese. And he seems to search for someone, for an unclear motive. One Sawada Tsunayoshi. And from his description the only one I could come up with is Natsu."

Natsu couldn't stop the large intake of breath as he heard his name. His real name. From the corner of his eye, he saw Buzz's sharp glance in his direction, but it was not acknowledged. He didn't know this Basil, but for some reason, he was searching for him. But why?

Realizing the others were waiting for him, he shook his head to clear it, before he addressed them.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi. That's my name, my name in real life. But I never met this Basil guy, he doesn't seem a bit familiar."

Hearing this Argo let out a hum as if saying she thought so, while Kirito narrowed his eyes. Ever since the start of the game, there was very little info exchanged about the real world among players, mostly because talking about it was just a cruel reminder, that they were imprisoned in this virtual world.

With a hand on his chin, the black-haired teen began to spoke out his thought.

"They only know your real name, not your game ID. But why would someone who was able to log in almost a month into the game, search for you?"

At his words, all four of them descended into a short silence. It was impossible to gauge Basil's intentions, with only one thing for sure. Sooner or later he would find Natsu. He was not as well-known as Kirito or Agil or Buzz, but among the frontliners, there would be one eventually who could lead this mysterious boy to Natsu.

The silence was broken when Buzz let out another huff of air, in this case in irritation, then turned to Argo.

"I assume you know where this guy is? I would rather he find us on our terms, not on his. It's the same for you, right? No doubt you have your own questions and what better way to get them, than through us."

With a sly smile on her face, the information broker leaned back in her chair, before graciously nodding to Buzz.

"Why of course, I know where our mystery figure is. And I would happily sell you for a small price of 5000 cor."

Natsu had to stop himself from spluttering in disbelief. 5000 cor. On a good day, at this level spending the whole day farming, the four of them could gather around 1500 cor, plus materials they would need for their gear. So the price of the information was more than 3 days of farming. This was outrageous.

The displeased frown on the spear user's face told the same story, while Kirito scratched his head, his face saying 'here we go again'.

"No deal. We can wait him out, now that we are aware of him, but unlike us, you would like to get those answers as soon as you can. How about you give the info for 100 cor, and we will sell you what we gain for the guy, for 2000 cor?"

As Argo and Buzz began to banter, Natsu, still in a light shock over someone looking for him, turned towards Kirito, silently asking what is going on. He couldn't understand why they would need to argue about this. The other teen could only shrug and went back to watching the two hash things out.

Before he could realize it, the two came to an agreement, Argo merrily skipping from her seat and throwing her arms around a once again blushing Natsu.

"Alright. So 500 cor and Na-kun will be my little helper for a day on a date of my choosing, in exchange for my always helpful information."

"Wh-what?!" Natsu cried out in shock, throwing a betrayed look towards Buzz, who seemed to suddenly develop a headache and was rubbing his head tiredly. Argo continued, heedless of the interruption.

"Also, I'll pay a thousand col for the information you can get from this Basil, regarding how he got into the game and if there is a way out. Of course, I won't distribute personal information."

Traitor Number Two, aka Kirito, ignored the pleading glance from the brunette instead, he poised his own question for Argo.

"And why was I also called here, Argo? For muscle?"

"Not really. You know SAO well enough, that you could probably see through if the guy tries to feed you false info." replied the whiskered girl, still cuddling to Natsu, who gave up all hope of being released."Also, I trust you more Ki-bou, than grumpy old Buzz, so I need you to protect Na-kun's innocence. I'll give you a discount next time you need info, okay?

Letting out a sigh of his own, the swordsman gave a tired shrug as agreement. Natsu was not sure what innocence needed to be protected, but he still felt there was something scary to her worlds. As the two men descended into silence, Natsu gathering all of his remaining courage addressed the information broker.

"So, where can we find Basil, Argo-sa-chan?" asked the boy quickly changing the suffix, feeling Argo's arms tightening around him in warning.

Letting go of the still blushing boy with one hand, Argo quickly checked that Buzz sent her the required amount of col, before answering.

"He's here in Urbus. Specifically, he's staying in the inn on the other side of town, in the Cloudy Pepper."

Natsu felt the question marks literally appear on his head after hearing the name. Cloudy Pepper? Who names an inn like that. Of course, knowing who made this virtual world the answer was relatively easy. Kayaba.

If one were to observe closely they could see the minute twitch of Buzz's eyebrows. The way Argo came about the whole situation, it appeared to be harder to find the mysterious player than simply walking to the other side of the town. But of course, the rat would take her fun where she could get.

Getting enough cuddling to last for a while, Argo fully released Natsu, taking a step back and addressing the 3 front-liners.

"This could be very serious. If there is a way to log in, maybe even to log out, it could change everything. So please, find out what you can."

Seeing the solemn face of the information broker, Natsu stood up from his chair, letting a confident smile appeared on his face.

"Don't worry Argo-chan. We will look into it."

"What the kid says." added Buzz, patting the head of the now indignant boy, while Kirito silently laughed in the background.

-0-

"Where the hell is he?" asked Buzz impatiently, drumming his fingers on the wooden table.

The three of them, Kirito, Buzz, and Natsu went to the Cloudy Pepper after separating from Argo, choosing to wait for Basil there. Though not as big as the City of Beginnings, Urbus was still large enough to make it hard to find someone there, without anything to narrow it down. In the end, they chose to rely on Argo's information and wait out the player there.

Kirito was simply leaning back on his chair, eyes closed and in deep thought. Buzz was getting fed up with waiting for someone who for they all knew was not going to arrive till night. It was already past midday. Natsu was drinking in silence a beverage he ordered from the NPC waitress, which tasted like green tea.

When a thought came to him, the brown-haired boy looked up, eying Kirito.

"Kirito-san?"

The black swordsman only let out a simple hum, opening one eye, showing that he was listening.

"Thank you."

At those words he straightened up, opening both eyes and looking at Natsu with curiosity.

"What for?"

A little self-conscious, Natsu let out a sheepish smile before he answered.

"For what you did in the boss room. For getting everyone to focus on you. It must have been hard, but thanks to that the players are working together, instead of pointing fingers at each other. You took a lot of heat off of Buzz, Argo, and other beta testers. So, thank you."

Kirito could only let out an embarrassed laugh at the heartfelt words. He gathered a lot of enemies, so a thank you probably was not something he heard a lot. With a scratch to his head, he murmured a quiet "You're welcome" before they descended into silence once again.

The silence was broken when the door of the inn opened and all three of them looked up, hoping that the mysterious Basil had arrived. They were disappointed though when instead of the boy they were waiting for, two familiar faces appeared in the doorway.

Biggs and Wedge the brothers they fought together with at the boss battle a week ago. As usual, Biggs walked a few steps behind and to the side of Wedge who talked animatedly about something and gestured wildly with his arms. The giant of a man noticed the three of them first and quietly pointed them out to his brother. Wedge as soon he saw them broke in a wide grin and cheerfully walked up to them.

"What a small world." he greeted them, stepping next to their table. "Hey Buzz, little boss! What's up?" he gave a curious look to the silent Kirito. "You are Kirito, right? Nice to meet you, I'm Wedge. The big guy is my brother Biggs."

As they softly exchanged greeting, Natsu smiled happily at the duo, he was wondering how they were doing.

"Hey, guys. Nothing big, we are just waiting for someone. How are you two doing? Everything alright?"

They soon began to talk with each other about everything they thought of, while Buzz exchanged a few words with Biggs and Kirito stayed silent, content in staying out of the socializing.

"Oh, I almost forgot," said Wedge, after they talked about Natsu's new sword a bit, looking like a thought suddenly came to him. "We were actually about to message you in a bit. See, there this guy we met a few days ago and farmed with him for a while. Kinda awkward, but not a bad guy. See, the thing is, he is searching for someone but only knows their real name and how they look, not the ID. We talked and offered to help him and when he described who he is looking for, we immediately thought of you, little boss. Biggs had the idea we should message you about the guy looking for you, but since we ran into you we can tell you in person."

The three front liners looked at each other for a moment, before with a shrug Buzz answered.

"We were actually waiting for that guy. Heard from Argo that he was looking for the kid, so we thought to get answers from him."

"Cool," said Wedge with a smile as he opened his menu and began to manipulate it, while Biggs walked away to order some food for the two of them. "I'll message him since we friended him and tell him to come here, okay?"

After Natsu nodded he sent the message away and he got confirmation from Basil he left them after a few more words to eat with his brother. All that left was waiting for Basil to arrive, so Natsu went back to drink his tea.

They had to wait for about ten more minutes before another figure walked into the inn. Basil looked exactly like the picture Argo showed them, with the only difference that his gear was higher-leveled now. When he noticed the three sitting in the corner, his face lit up, and hurried to them, looking over Natsu carefully.

"Sawada-dono!" he exclaimed when he stopped before the surprised boy, giving a deep bow of respect. "I finally found you."

'Well, Argo's information was right. His Japanese is odd' thought Natsu, feeling a little flustered by this show of respect. It didn't help that he could see Buzz trying to hold back a snicker at the side.

"My name is Natsu. We don't use real names in here," he said, focusing on the blonde kid. "You are Basil, right? We heard you have been looking for me."

Basil could only offer a simple nod before Kirito cut in. He sat straight in his seat, sharp eyes staring down at Basil.

"More importantly, somehow you were able to login to the game after it was declared a death game. Why? How? Are you able to log out?"

Basil didn't seem very fazed at the string of questions, coolly staring back at the black swordsman. After a while he seemed satisfied, he slowly sat down at the empty chair facing Buzz. He contemplated for a while, giving a sidelong glance to a curious Natsu as if he was looking for his approval before he began talking.

"It's a little complicated so I will try to keep things simple. My name is Basil, and I was sent here to protect Sawada, I mean Natsu-dono by his father."

"My father!?" Natsu explained, totally confused.

"I don't get it." said Buzz, idly scratching his chin. "Your old man some big corporate guy or something?"

"No." answered Natsu, shaking his head. "Last I heard, Mom said that he worked at construction sites."

Before they could continue Basil cut in, looking extremely uncomfortable.

"Actually," he began, gaining their attention once more. "It supposed to be a secret, but it is for the best that I tell you a little. Master, I mean Sawada Iemitsu-dono, works in Italy, leading an intelligence branch of a large corporation. I am actually his subordinate, I've been training under him for a few years."

Natsu's eyes widened almost comically, completely blown away. His father!? The always goofy man, who was rarely home, yet when he was all he did was sleep, eat, drink and goof off? He had a very hard time believing.

Basil took his silence as permission to continue.

"When he heard about Natsu-dono trapped in here, Master used a lot of favors he collected over the years, to find someone who could help him get Natsu-dono out. He eventually found a scientist named Verde, who agreed to help. Unfortunately, this game's system, I think its name is Cardinal, is so sophisticated that it will be a long before there is a chance to control it."

Kirito nodded absently, well aware that if they couldn't just hack in and log out people in the past month, the game's system would be so protected that there would no help from outside. Yet, before them sat the exception to the rule.

"Somehow you were able to log in, right?" asked the black swordsman at last.

"I'm not really sure about the specifics," started to say Basil, uncertainty filling his tone." From what I understand there was a small gap in the system that they were able to use to log me in. Unfortunately, there was no way to log out anyone and Verde-dono said that they would be unable to log in anyone after me because the system would recognize the gap and seal it."

Kirito hummed thoughtfully, not finding anything that would suggest that the teen before them was anything but truthful. Buzz seemed to ask the question that was on his mind for a while.

"Why were you the one they sent in?"

"Because of experience and lack of other options mostly." answered Basil, earning a raised eyebrow from the spear user. "I was with Master when he went to Verde-dono and this gap was found. Time was of essence since they weren't sure how long before the system made that route unusable. I also have been training with various sword styles from a young age. I was able to convince Master that I would be more help here than him, who did not have any experience."

Natsu had to blink a lot to hold back to tears that threatened to overwhelm him. While his mother loved his father, he didn't really feel anything towards him. He was gone most of his life, only occasionally appearing. But hearing that he was trying to get him back, that he was ready to dive into this death game for him, meant a lot to the young boy.

Buzz gave a silent approval at that. He himself was a father, he knew very well how far he would go for his kid. Hopefully, the new brat will be as good as he says. He shared a look with Kirito, the black swordsman giving his okay with a simple nod. He turned towards Basil who was busy waiting for a response from Natsu.

"Well, get ready kid, soon like coming with us."

"With you?" Basil looked up uncertainly, Natsu doing the same.

"Yeah. A friend of mine, Agil, and I sort of looking out for the squirt and another brat. If you want to protect him, you might as well stay with us. And until I'm one hundred percent sure we can trust you, it's better if you are here, where I can keep an eye on you."

The blonde-haired youth gave a sidelong glance to his Master's son, who seemed to follow the older man's lead even if he still protested the constant mentioning of his height. With a resolute nod to himself, he turned towards the spear user and bowed his head.

"I'll be in your care."

Buzz answered with a small smile, before addressing the two kids.

"We have to come up with some story for Basil if anyone else notices that his name is differently placed at the monument."

Basil looked confused and was about to ask what they were talking about when Kirito cut him off.

"No need." stated the black-haired teen, reading a message that appeared in front of him. "According to Argo, Basil's name in the monument of life was placed on its alphabetical place. She just checked it now."

Buzz furrowed his brows as he thought what would have caused the change.

"Either Kayaba himself or the system detected it and corrected the list, but didn't do anything about Basil himself. What do you think?" he asked Kirito.

"Probably the former. The system had a week to notice it, but it was only now corrected. But that leaves the question if it was the only thing he did or not."

"That guy didn't seem interested in doing anything else, but observe us. But with a madman like him, we could never know. Best be ready for the worst, right?"

As the two descended into a heavy silence Natsu decided to voice his thoughts.

"I think it doesn't change anything, no matter how much we think about this." the others looked at him in question, so Natsu decided to elaborate. "Kayaba is a game master, basically a god in here. We could theorize all we want, but it would mean nothing if he decided to do something. Instead, I think we should focus on something we can control, we can change. The second-floor fight for example."

"Also, my account is a little different from yours. I'm logged in through Verde-dono's servers, so I think he could counter almost every direct attempt at me." Basil also added his two cents.

The older man scratched the back of his head, before letting out a bark of laughter.

"Guess you are right. No use trying to predict what a madman would do. Anyway, now that we found Basil and everything cleared up, what do you say getting back to the fields. We still have time to farm something worthwhile.

Natsu and Basil agreed, the former quickly inviting the other to their party, while Buzz sent a message to Agil to expect the plus one they would bring with them.

"Well then let's get going. Kirito, would you tell Argo what we learned?" at the swordsman's amicable nod, the spear user stood up, the two young boys following his lead. "Then see you around, black swordsman. Don't die."

As they began to leave Natsu gave a big smile to the older teen.

"Stay safe, Kirito-san."

"It was nice meeting you." Basil also said his goodbyes.

Kirito waved his arm back, a small smile on his face. Also waving goodbye to Biggs and Wedge, the trio left the inn.

-0-

It was night at Aincrad. The now five-person Team Natsu spent the rest of the afternoon grinding, opting to spend a night at a remote village they found near the edge of the map, instead of going back to Urbus.

The boys went to bed, all three of them exhausted after the day they had. Agil and Buzz sat in the living room of the small house they rented. Buzz was absently looked to the side, while Agil calmly drank a cup of what looked like green tea.

"You know, if you keep this up I will never again send you alone with Natsu. It seems like whenever you two go somewhere you bring back someone else too." said Agil, chuckling at the annoyed expression on his friend's face.

"It's not my fault. The brat is the one who keeps finding strays, not me." Buzz let out a snort, before continuing. "God knows the kid could use a few kids around his age. If they can keep up, that is."

The two once again descended into silence, before the spear user once again spoke up.

"When do you plan to retire from the frontlines?"

"What do you mean?" asked Agil shocked and a little bit guilty. Buzz gave the Afro-American a 'Are you serious?' look.

"You are no warrior, Agil, you are a merchant. Here or out there. Look, I know you help out a lot of low-level players with what we farm and sell the rest to the cleaners. It's admirable and all that, but as the level difference between the average player and the frontline becomes bigger, you wouldn't able to do this. Sooner or later you have to choose, and I know you enough to know what you choose. The only question is when."

Agil looked away, deep in thought. After a while, the large man answered.

"Not for a while, that's for sure. I realize sooner or later I will part ways with you. But even then I don't intend to fully retire from the front lines. Guess, I will cross that bridge when the time comes. And you?"

"Probably stay with the kids until I'm sure they can survive on their own." answered Buzz ."After that? No idea. Maybe I will go solo. For me, the only way to go is forward."

Agil gave a healthy laugh and smiled at his friend.

"Look at you. When did you get so soft?"

Buzz only sorted in response, choosing not to answer. But even so, a small smile was shown on his face as the two old friends continued to talk.

-0-

In a darkened cave somewhere on the second floor an armored figure fell to a knee. He had long dark hair with a single strand in front of his face. He had an exotic, handsome face and wore black colored heavy armor. A few meters away from him a large two-handed sword lay, out of his reach. Despite no visible injuries, the man was clutching his right hand, panting heavily and sweating.

The figure standing before him was literally shrouded in darkness. Shadows flowed off of his form as he idly twirled some kind of polearm in his hands. The only other visible feature that was seen on the figure was its right eye that seemed to be surrounded by some kind of indigo fire.

"What do you want?" bit out the man on the ground, glaring hatefully at the thing before him.

The figure let out a soft laugh, sounding as if multiple people, male, female, old, young were laughing with it.

"Oh, I want many, many things. But for those, I don't need you. I only need you for one little thing." the figure knelt down as well, caressing the angry man's face with his left hand. "What I need you, is to be my new face, **PoH**."


	5. Level 5 Adventure Time

**Level 5: Adventure Time**

"Switch!" rang out Natsu's cry as he jumped away from the oncoming attack of the enemy mob, catching Basil's almost silent grunt as he stopped the charge with his shield.

The blind cavern wolf was one of the strongest mobs on the 5th floor, usually spawning in groups of three, a vicious foe that most of the cleaners tended to avoid. It was a large wolf, matching Ken's height, who was tall for his age, with thick gray fur that had a black stripe running along its spine and milky white eyes. It also had fangs quite capable of tearing through a player's arm and health bar. When he first encountered it, Natsu hid behind Agil with a frightened yelp.

It's been a few weeks since Basil joined their little family and a lot of things happened. They faced the boss of the second floor, now prepared for any deviations from the beta. Thanks to that they weren't caught off-guard when the bull boss' starting pattern was different than what they knew. The veterans of the previous boss fight were able to keep the raid party together and defeat the boss.

The frontline stayed on the third floor for only four days before the boss was found and consequently defeated. Nobody was in the mood for Christmas, so instead of spending time with their family and preparing for the new year, team Natsu and other groups explored the fourth floor and farmed. Because of this, after almost a week, the fourth boss fell under the combined might of the clearers.

That was two weeks ago, but the 5th floor is proving to be quite a challenge. Deviating from the large open areas of previous floors, this floor was a giant maze of intersecting tunnels and large caves. They weren't in total darkness, but the dim lights provided by the system limited their field of vision, causing the players to move and fight with even more caution.

Progress was slow and frustrating, so Natsu, along with Ken and Basil took a day off and went to farm for materials. Cavern wolf fang was the ingredient they needed to raise Ken's Windcutter to +4, so while Agil was at a lower level bantering with other merchants and Buzz was meeting with a few cleaners, they went hunting wolves.

As he came to a halt, Natsu observed their surroundings. They were in a larger cave, where they found another group of blind cavern wolves. While Basil held back the wolf that charged him, Ken was swiftly dodging the swipes of a second wolf. Thankfully the third enemy had been already defeated thanks to their initial attack.

When Basil was able to repel the wolf's charge, with a cry of "Switch!" they once again traded places. Raising his sword high, with a blue glow Natsu activated the one-hit charge type sword skill, Sonic leap. With a yell he charged forward, guided by the system toward the wolf that was frozen by its own cooldown. Reaching his target he let louse a vertical slash, sending the wolf's hp into the red zone.

But it was not enough to end the beast. Now it was Natsu who was caught in the cool down and was open to any counterattack. The wolf seemed to smirk at him as it opened his mouth and prepared to bite him. That moment was broken when a sword skill caught its side and eliminated its remaining health points.

Natsu instantly recognized the red glow of the curved sword skill, Heavy Slash. As the wolf burst into polygons with a final cry, he caught the eyes of a grinning Ken who stood there nonchalantly with his sword resting on his shoulder. It seemed that while he charged wolf A, Ken and Basil traded places against wolf B.

"Thanks for the save." said the brown-haired boy with a small smile.

"no problem." came the cheery response.

The growl of the last blind cavern wolf reminded them the fight was far from over. Pulling themselves together, the two raced towards it, ready to assist Basil.

-0-

"Sweet! We got two fangs" exclaimed Ken as he scrolled through the drops they received.

After they dispatched the last wolf the three of them retreated to a nearby safe zone to take a breather. Natsu sat next to a wall, greedily drinking from a water bottle. Even though their physical bodies were looked after at the hospital, the game still recreated the feelings of thrust and hunger. It could be ignored, but in a life and death battle, it was not a welcome distraction.

"Are you alright Natsu-dono?" asked Basil, worriedly hovering at his side. The young boy integrated into their group easily, though it was a battle of its own to convince him that Natsu could safely hold his own in battle. He still insisted to be at his side whenever he left town.

"I'm alright, thank you." assured the brown-haired boy.

"All of us are fine. We are an awesome team. Don't worry so much." said Ken, catching Basil's neck in a one-armed hug, electing a surprised squeak from him.

They fooled around for a few minutes before Ken mentioned they found more than enough fangs. Three of them decided to go back to the previous floor where their favored blacksmith resided. As they began to walk, Natsu trailed behind them giving a sour look to his sword.

He worked well with Ken and Basil, but playing solo was out of the question. In the last two floors, he failed to find a suitable replacement for his weapon, having to use less than stellar swords. His damage was simply not enough as shown in the previous fight. It's not like he wasn't doing anything. They worked well together, able to face tougher enemies, but sometimes Natsu still felt like he wasn't contributing enough.

He did his best to close the gap he felt between himself and the others by focusing on his base stats and skills, but right he was now at the point where a good weapon meant everything.

'Hopefully, Argo soon finds something.' he thought as he quickened his pace to catch up with his friends.

-0-

The trio exited the teleport gate, the blue light of the gate slowly dimming behind them. Though the city of the 5th floor was available, because of the general dreary atmosphere of the floor, most of the players preferred to stay on the 4th floor.

In contrast to the newest floor, the whole floor was a sunny, mountain region, with its main city, Arkadia built into the side of a mountain. It had a very regal air to it, the city full of beautiful fountains and sculpted statues of faceless heroes. If the city of beginning was the humble beginning of a hero's journey, Arkadia was the capital of a kingdom where the heroes of old were displayed.

Natsu looked around with a smile on his face as they began walking. The streets were filled with players. Some merchants sold various items collected by frontliners, the few who decided to work as blacksmiths selling their own creations and leveling the items of the players. Most of the other players were those who refused to go out to the fields and remained spectators waiting to be rescued. But on the bright side, after the last month of progress, many passive players gained the courage to began to train to eventually join the frontline. It was less than they would have liked, but since the cleaners have yet to lose even one of their number, it was still promising.

Their destination was one of the blacksmiths, who they usually go to if they want to improve their gear. In SAO after everyone's true face and gender were revealed, the ratio of gender and age drastically changed. While there were kids around Natsu's age despite the rating of the game, the average age moved to around 30-35 years. Likewise for about every 20 male players, there was only one female player. Because of that female players tend to gather more recognition than normal. Most notable the rapier user Asuna who worked with the beater, Kirito, the infamous information broker Argo and the blacksmith Lisbeth.

The trio arrived at Lisbeth's relatively modest stall which was thankfully not swarmed by other players. Lisbeth or Liz to her friends was a 15-year-old girl who decided to support the frontliners in her way. She was around Basil's height, had short pink hair. Her blacksmith uniform looked more like the uniform of a waitress: a dark red top with puffed sleeves and a flared skirt, combined with a white apron on top of it.

Lis brightened up and gave the boys a big smile when she noticed them.

"Hey, guys! Back again?" she greeted cheerfully one of her most frequent customers.

"Hi Lis." they greeted back, with Ken scratching his head sheepishly.

"Sorry, but I would like another try."

Once before they tried to raise the level of Ken's weapon but it resulted in failure. This is because the system is the one determining if a strengthening was successful, based on random chance. Ken was not particularly bothered when it failed, unlike Lis who became downtrodden. It took them a while to cheer her up, before promising to come back to her after they gathered up the needed ingredients.

"Who am I to send away paying customers?" asked Lis good-naturedly.

While Ken transferred the necessary ingredients and Lis made her preparations Natsu asked how her business and the other players were doing. The pink-haired girl shrugged her shoulders.

"Not much business for me these days. Almost all the top players are on the 5th-floor mapping, the mid-level players are busy raising their levels and everyone else is waiting for the boss room to be found."

Natsu nodded at that, he heard something similar from others as well. They chatted a little more, talking about the hope that they would be able to beat the 5th boss before the new year. She seemed so cheerful, Natsu didn't have the heart to tell her, according to his last talk with Kirito, the black swordsman estimated a minimum of three years before they could reach the 100th floor.

A few moments later Lis was ready. Now that the preparations were complete, the only thing left to do was for the blacksmith to hit the weapon ten times with her hammer. They looked on with bated breath as the hammer struck down, time and time again. As the tenth time approached Lis was visibly sweating and the boys were leaning closer in anticipation.

After the hammer fell for the last time and the notification of a successful upgrade appeared the four of them let out such a huge cheer, that several people looked at them weirdly.

While Ken gave a few practice swings with his sword, a huge grin on his face, Lis turned to Natsu curiously.

"Don't you need to upgrade your sword Natsu-kun? It could use a little improvement from what I see."

The young boy was about to reply that he did not want to use this inferior sword for much longer when a message notification pulled his attention away. As he read through the message he slowly gained a very big grin, causing Ken to blink curiously towards him. When he finished reading he turned towards the perplexed girl with an excited gleam in his eyes.

"No need! We're about to get my new sword. We will be back soon to upgrade it. Bye Lis-chan." with that he took off like a bullet, Badil desperately trying to keep pace with him.

"We are?" asked Ken completely clueless before realizing he was being left behind. With a quick goodbye, he ran after his friends.

Lisbeth could only shake her head with exasperation at the three kids.

-0-

After the fight against the 4th-floor boss, Natsu decided if he wanted a good sword that he felt comfortable using, it was about time he took matters into his own hands. He employed the services of Argo using a lot of col along with a few personal favors (why does it feel like he sold his soul to the devil?) to track down a suitable weapon for him. Be it quest reward, potential drop, or even some player selling it. He knew that the infamous rat was the best person for the job.

Finally, she came through. Just now she messaged him about a new quest found on the 5th floor which promised a sword of legend as its reward. Of course, there were risks involved. For their current level that floor still held many dangers for them, not to mention any traps that awaited them. This quest was also not in the beta, not that the testers' information was all that reliable anymore. It further complicated things that it was only found, no one completed it, at least no one came forward with any info.

"Natsu-dono, please wait up." a voice called out to him. Stopping his march towards the teleport gate, he met with a panting Basil who reached him at last.

"You took off so fast. Where are we going in such a hurry?" he asked when he finally got his breathing under control. Strictly speaking, they did not need to breathe in this virtual world, but it was an instinctual action.

"Ah, sorry." Natsu scratched the back of his head sheepishly, steadfastly ignoring the exasperated look Ken sent him who also caught up with him. "Argo messaged me about a lead for my new sword. It's a new quest on the 5th floor. I guess I got excited." he gave a small laugh in the end.

Basil only frowned in response. After a short battle with himself, he voiced his concerns.

"Shouldn't we meet up with Agil and Buzz before venturing in? There are many possible dangers and they would be of big help to us." told them the blonde-haired teen.

Natsu failed to suppress the wince at hearing this. A part of him wanted to stop depending on the two older men. He wanted to prove that he needed no protection, that he was their equal. Thankfully, Ken was able to understand his feelings. He threw an arm around Basil, causing the other boy to splutter in surprise while he simply laughed.

"Don't worry so much. It sounds like fun, so why don't we try it, just with the three of us?" Ken's words were confident, sure in their ability to battle any threat they might come across.

Basil was reluctant at first, but in the end caved in, on the condition they inform the adults about it. After a quick message to Buzz they had his agreement, provided Agil won't learn of this until the three of them safely returned from their adventure.

Permission was obtained and potions refilled, their quest began with Ken's enthusiastic shout.

"Team Natsu Advance Adventure Squad, NaBaKen, ready to go!"

"You're not allowed to name things anymore." shouted the supposed leader exasperatedly. "

-0-

"Will you help me, brave heroes? Will you save our city?"

An elderly man, with long white hair and a beard that almost reached the floor bowed down before the three players. He wore a tattered cloak and held a damaged dirty sword sheath in his hand, the sword inside probably in a similar condition. The question mark that appeared above his hand signaled that the old man was an NPC, a quest-giving NPC at that.

They were at the outskirts of the 5th floor's main settlement, Dokut. Compared to previous floors, Dokut was relatively small for a city housing the floor's teleport gate, but appropriate for the theme of the whole floor. Larger buildings were built into the wall of the cavern, while smaller structures filled out the rest of the large cavern that housed the whole city of Dokut. A large underground river split the city into two parts, the water giving a serene blue tint to the whole cavern. Four tunnels were leading from the cavern to the rest of the floor, south, west, north, and east. Natsu and his friends were near the east tunnel's entrance where the NPC in question tended to spend his days.

When an NPC has a quest, you need to say the correct phrase for the system to recognize your intent. There were situations before when it took quite a long while and a lot of tries to find that particular phrase with an NPC. Thankfully, with a direct question like that, it would be easy.

Natsu stepped closer and bowed a little in reflex.

"We will." he said and the old man visibly brightened up as the question mark above him changed into an exclamation mark.

"Thank you, brave heroes." With that, the man straightened and ceased all interactions with them. In front of Natsu, a window opened up with the info and requirements of the quest.

"So, what's the quest?" asked Ken as he waited for the brown-haired boy to read through the information. He closed the window and turned to his friends.

"Most of it matches with what info Argo gave me about the quest. Some kind of monster is terrorizing this city population and we are asked to stop it. The reward is along with the col is a 'Sword of a Hero'. Probably there is a mini-boss at the end of the quest we have to defeat." the two boys nodded at that, it was basically what Argo already told them. "The quest comes in three stages. First, we have to slay 30 Enraged Moles."

Basil couldn't hide his wince as he heard that. Enraged Moles are not the most dangerous enemies on this floor, but they were definitely the most annoying. They usually attack in pairs and have the annoying habit to burrow themselves into the earth if they lose a large enough percentage of their health in quick succession. They don't go away, but they could attack from anywhere.

Their 'underground attack' also causes a short stun, so these little monsters are the nightmares of solo players. Basil especially loathes them because a few days ago they caught him by surprise and got stuck in a mole hole, with only his head remaining above ground. Buzz laughed himself silly while the others tried to get him out. They spawn sporadically all over the map, and there is yet to be found a definite spawn point. Finding and defeating 30 of them will be time consuming and tiresome.

"It will be good practice." laughed Ken, trying to keep up the positivity."Should we start now? We still have most of the day, maybe we will be lucky and get them all today."

It was barely after lunch. Basil was able to talk to Natsu and Ken to eat something before venturing out. A miracle in itself, seeing how insistent his charge was on completing the quest as soon as possible.

With bellies full of virtual food, the trio left Dokut, through the east tunnel, ready to hunt down all the moles the floor has to offer.

-0-

Natsu stabbed his sword in the ground and leaned into it, as he watched the last of the Enraged Moles break apart into polygons. He was panting heavily, exhaustion clear on his face. His armor was so dirty, it looked brown instead of the original orange. His equipment has reached the lower half of its durability. A look to the side showed that the others didn't fare much better. Ken was inspecting his weapon, his face littered with small scrapes. Basil was nervously looking around, shield placed in front of himself, fearing another attack from the moles. This little hunt didn't help with his slight phobia against them.

They were hunting for about 4 hours. They traveled from one 'common' spawn point to another, trying to encounter the enraged moles. Thankfully they found quite a few of them, and along with other monsters they defeated in hopes that their targets spawn instead of them, they collected quite an amount of col, material, and most of all experience. After this last fight, Natsu had a window pop up and inform him that he leveled up, a boy letting out a tired smile in response.

"How many are left?" came a question from Ken, after he too was able to get his breathing under control.

Natsu swiped down his menu to check the progress of the quest. He frowned when the number came with only an 18 out of 30. It was an impressive number, considering the random spawn of the mob, but he still felt that it wasn't enough.

"We still need twelve more of them," he answered back a little dejected.

Ken frowned at that and began to think. Natsu already knew what he would say and he didn't want to hear it. In the end, it was Basil, finally accepting that no more moles would pop up, who spoke up.

"Let's go back." when the two looked at him in question, he calmly shrugged his shoulders."We've been at it for quite a long time. Face it, we are exhausted. We are also running low on potions and our armors are wearing down. We can continue it tomorrow, the quest can wait."

While Ken nodded in agreement, Natsu bit down his lip in worry. He didn't want to wait, he wanted this quest done today. According to Argo, there was a chance that this quest and most importantly its reward could be a one-time thing. It's not something that's done in normal MMO's but it was already clear that this game was not a normal MMO.

Before SAO was officially launched, Kayaba made several references that players would have 'individual' growths while playing. There's also the fact that last attack bonus items became unique items because as far as they know, there is no way to repeat a boss fight that has been concluded, while in the beta there was a two-week cooldown, 'respawn' period for the floor bosses. In a sense it made things more real, more pressing to use available resources.

Stopping for today and continuing tomorrow was the sensible approach, Natsu knew that all too well, but the instincts that helped him stay alive since the first day of the death game, told him, that if he came back tomorrow to finish the quest, he would miss a great opportunity. He opened his mouth to argue with his friends when the sound of steps reached their ears. Turning towards where the sounds came from, they were met with a sight of three people walking into the tunnel they were resting in,

All three of them wore red and black armor, reminiscent of samurai armor. The supposed leader, who walked in front was an older man with spiky red hair, a hooked nose, a slight beard on his cheeks and chin. He had a roguish air around him, but Natsu didn't feel any danger from him. He also had a curved sword resting on his hip.

The other two men who followed him reminded the younger boy of Biggs and Wedge for a short moment. The one on the right was a rotund man with a two-handed sword on his back. He had short brown hair and an overall peaceful expression on his face. The other man wore a bandana like his leather, had a small beard on his chin, and a small mustache. He had a shield on his arm and a one-handed sword sheathed on his hip.

The three of them were talking with enthusiasm when they noticed three young kids. The leader blinked in confusion before he addressed them.

"Hey, kids, what are you doing here? Are you lost?" he asked them, his voice not rough or mean as his appearance suggested.

Not trying to threaten them, but Basil still stood instinctually before Natsu in a way to shield him if they were attacked. Ken instead remained relaxed, giving a sheepish grin at the newcomers. In the past weeks, he understood that Natsu just had an unexplainable sense to detect if someone was trustworthy or not. That was why he was instantly alert when they first encountered Kibaou, yet trusted Kirito despite his less than stellar reputation. That his friend remained calm, meant that the three men were good. Probably.

"Hey." he greeted them with a smile."We are not lost. We are doing a quest right now."

They seemed to be shocked by the revelation. At a closer look, they realized that their gear was high-level, instead of lower-level not suited for this floor.

"Didn't know there were kids so young amongst the top players." their leader scratched his head in astonishment before regained his wits."Ah, sorry about that. I thought all the younger kids remained on the first floor, avoiding monsters. Where are my manners? My name is Klein." he introduced himself before pointing at his companions, first the larger man and then to the other."They are Dale and Dynamn. We are from the guild Fuurinkazan."

"Hello!" the other two greeted them kindly.

"Don't worry about that." assured them Natsu, with a small smile. Interestingly enough, the leader's, Klein's name was familiar for some reason."I'm Natsu by the way, nice to meet you."

"I'm Ken, nice to meet you." Ken greeted them with a small laugh, before throwing an arm around a still tense Basil. "And here is Basil." the blonde teen only gave a nod to the members of Fuurinkazan."We are Team Natsu Advance Adventure Squad, NaBaKen!" he told them with a childish grin.

"You are still not allowed to name things!" cried out Natsu in dismay, causing the older men o laugh at their antics.

"I think that's a cool name." told them, Klein with a friendly grin, ignoring Natsu's groan. "What quest are you doing? We are doing the Mole disaster quest, hunting for Enraged Moles." he told them, much to their surprise. Other players tended not to divulge others about their quests, especially those on the frontline. They always were looking for an advantage against monsters and sometimes others as well. This made Argo many business opportunities because everyone went to her for accurate information.

"We are doing the same quest." answered Basil in surprise, who still not learned certain 'etiquettes' among the high-level players.

"Really? We were hunting for an hour but only found 4 Enraged Moles. You guys having any luck?" Dale asked them, his voice surprisingly high for a guy that big.

"I know!" before they could answer, Klein cried out, who had a face as if a light bulb lightened u pin his head."Why don't we join forces and complete the quest together? With twice the people, the enraged moles would be easy to take care of. You guys can even be the ones who share the quest." said Klein with a sincere look in his eyes.

Sharing a quest meant that the people in the same party would work together for the same objectives. For the most part, it wouldn't matter who shared the quest initially because every member would receive the col and exp reward. But it is different with a quest that has item rewards. Only the player who accepted and later shared the quest would get the items, while col and exp are still shared. It was made to avoid players breaking the game's balance with mass-acquiring high-level rare items.

"You mean, you don't want the sword that's the reward for the quest." asked Natsu with narrowed eyes. It was not common to let go of a possibly high-level weapon so easily.

"We have good enough equipment, so we don't really need it." said Dynamn, the only who of the three of them who used a one-handed sword. "We are hunting the enraged moles for copper moleskin that we need to upgrade the boss's armor." he pointed his thumb at a sheepish Klein. "We only accepted the quest on a whim, if we were already hunting them, why don't we do it for a little more experience.

Basil still looked a little wary, but Ken was grinning with a large smile.

"It sounds fun. We could use the help. With six of us, we could probably finish the quest today."

"Didn't you agreed with me that we should go back just before now?" objected the Italian boy."We are exhausted and should return to a safe zone."

"That was when it was only the three of us." answered the curved sword user absently. "But with the guys from fuurinkazan, we could easily take on the moles, without overextending ourselves. What do you think boss?" he asked from Natsu with a teasing grin.

Though he blushed a little at being called out, Natsu responded with a grin.

"Sound like a plan. Let's do it." he agreed while he sent out party invites to Klein, Dale, and Dynamn.

"Alright!"Klein grinned with enthusiasm.

-0-

Enraged moles were moles the size of a larger dog with coppery black fur. They didn't cause too much damage by themselves but they were very annoying and problematic to fight against.

With a yell, Dale activated the two-handed sword skill, Overhead Strike, and swung his blade vertically, catching the mole at its side. Thrown back by the effect of the skill the mole laid on the ground for a few moments before bursting into polygons, its HP reached zero.

Basil who was weathering the mole's attacks, let out a sigh and lowered his shield in relief. Ken at his side patted his back, while Klein, Dynamn, and Natsu who were dealing with the other mole walked next to them. All of them looked a little dirty, but far from exhausted. The three younger boys took a small break, to recharge before jumping into the frame, thanks to that they were able to function properly.

"Good work!" said Klein cheerily as they reached each other. Basil gave a small smile, the kind nature of the older man eventually put even him in ease.

They suddenly turned to Natsu, who let out an uncharacteristic whoop. The boy was checking out the quest's screen, after the defeat of the last mole. He faced the other members of their party, with a large smile on his face.

"We did t. We just defeated the 30th Enraged Mole." his statement was met with a large cheer. They spent another two hours since the party expanded, hunting moles and any other mob they encountered. Klein and his friends managed to gather enough moleskin for their upgrade, but stayed, to see this quest through.

"What's the next objective?" asked Ken, after they calmed down a little.

Natsu was about to answer his friend when a window popped up before him. His eyes had widened and he tried to call out to the others when a deep rumble went through the cave they were in. Before they could react, the earth caved in beneath every one of them and then they were falling.

Letting out a loud cry, the brown-haired boy tried to find something to hold onto around him, but his hand only found air. As abruptly as the ground disappeared from under him, he soon landed with an audible thump. A few other pained groans around him told Natsu that at least their group remained together. From where he was lying he saw the comical sight of Klein being squashed beneath the big-boned body of his guildmate, Dale.

As he slowly sat up, his hands instinctively tightening around his sword, he noticed two things. One, from the corner of his eye he saw he didn't suffer any hp loss. It was probably by design because for all the risks and disadvantages they had against the game, there was always a way to win. It wouldn't be a proper game if there was no chance of winning after all.

The second thing he noticed that the ground beneath his fingers was trembling ominously. Remembering what he read before he fell down, Natsu instantly became alarmed.

"Guys!" he shouted, causing the others who also tried to get up turn to him."Hurry, we have to get ready.

"What are you talking about, what's happening?" asked a confused Klein, who was able to get free.

"The second objective!"told them Natsu as he looked around frantically."We have to survive against the onslaught of a horde of enraged moles for 5 minutes before we could face the boss monster. We don't have much time!"

Basil, Klein, and Dynamn paled rapidly before scrambling to get up and get into a proper stance. Dale, who looked a little afraid was able to move around a little more calmly, while Ken didn't give out any visible reaction save for the grim look he wore.

The cave they landed in was massive, maybe around half of the cave that gave a home to Dokut. There was no way out, save for the few holes in the ceiling from where they fell. The cave itself bare, with a few rocks of various sizes standing out of the ground.

"There!" cried out Dynamn pointing at a flat rock in the middle of the cave. It rose a little above the earth around it, but not high enough that they couldn't climb up there."We can make our stand there."

It was a good idea in theory. The enraged moles could burrow into the earth with no problem, but they couldn't do the same with stone. By staying at the top of the rock, at least they could avoid any surprise attacks from below.

Following Dynamn's suggestion, they climbed up to the rock, thankfully they had plenty of space, even with six people. They formed a loose circle, facing outward, with Dale given a bit more room to be able to swing his sword without problems. Natsu was standing between Ken and Klein, his attention on the timer that appeared after they fell down.

"Thirty seconds and the wave starts." he warned them, his grip tightening on his sword."We don't need to defeat them, only to survive for 5 minutes. Focus on defense."

The others looked around nervously, before steeling themselves for the upcoming fight. The ground began to tremble more and more violently, but their rock was more stable than it seemed and they didn't have to worry about their footings so much.

They were running out of time, with only fifteen seconds left when a window popped up in front of Natsu. It was a trade window from Klein. He turned towards the samurai to question him when an item was placed on Klein's side of the window. A teleport crystal. An extremely useful item, capable of teleporting the user to a chosen city's teleport gate on any unlocked floor, even in the middle of combat. But they were very rare too. According to Buzz, around the 8th floor, it would be available to buy from NPCs for a very steep price, but until then the only way to get one was from monster drops. From the corner of his eyes, he saw similar windows appear in front of Ken and Basil, presumably from Dale and Dynamn.

"Take it." Klein was not looking at him, but surveying the cave for any enemies. In contrast to the earlier slightly comical and funny behavior, the man was completely serious. His eyes were hard, there was no fear, no nervousness in him, only a firm resolution. "Take it and get out of here if it seems we are getting overwhelmed."

Natsu froze when he realized what he offered. Considering how rare and expensive teleport crystals were, there's no way they would have six of them. The teleport crystal could only take a person and if they had only three of them...they planned to stay. Klein, Dale, and Dynamn planned to stay while allowing them to run away.

His left hand was hovering above the accept button, fighting a war with himself. He didn't want to abandon anybody. The three guys from Fuurinkazan were really kind and funny to be around. But he didn't want to die, and if they were ever overwhelmed it would be over, without leaving anything of themselves behind.

Natsu found his answer when he spied his reflection from the blade of his sword.

Klein looked at him in confusion when the trade was canceled.

"I won't run away!"Natsu told him, his voice not even wavering a little.

The older man looked surprised and from the corner of his eyes, he saw Ken and Basil also declining the trade requests. There was no hesitation in their eyes, only a resolution to fight. It was not him, but Ken who gave voice to the feelings of the three younger boys.

"We will not run away if it means leaving anyone behind." he was staring out towards the vast cave, his body already tensed for the upcoming fight."I want to go home. I want to be together with my father again. But not if it means leaving someone to die. If I run away now, then it wouldn't have mattered if I never left the town of beginning. All that I achieved up until now, will lose it's meaning if I give up when it gets tough."

Basil only gave a single nod in agreement, but it was enough. Natsu couldn't help but smile at his friends.

"We will all survive. All six of us." he told them, causing Klein to chuckle.

"You sure are stubborn." he flashed Natsu a roguish grin. The brown-haired boy saw in the corner of his vision, the timer reached zero. As soon as this happened numerous enraged moels burst from the earth, there were at least thirty of them."Come and get me."Klein taunted the moles who began to rush for their position.

Noticing a new timer appearing and count down from 5:00, Natsu felt himself slip into what he called 'battle mode'. The world around him slowed down as the moles neared them, all his panic, all his concerns faded into the background. Only the serious, methodical thoughts of a warrior remained. In times like these, in the middle of a fight, that he felt as if instead of Tsuna playing as Natsu, he truly became the swordsman Natsu. This is when he felt most comfortable, the most at ease within his skin.

After this battle, Ken would tell him that his entire posture changed as he went into battle mode, soon earning him a nickname that would become just as integrated into his being as being called Dame-Tsuna was. But that story was for another day.

-0-

Nothing existed. Just his sword, the enemy surrounding them, and the allies at his sides. Thankfully, the moles couldn't break through stone, so the monsters they needed to watch out for were in front of them. Natsu felt into a rhythm of block, push back, attack and retreat. They made sure to look out for each other, whenever someone advanced a little, the others moved around accordingly, ensuring no enemy could get between them. Before he realized it, only two minutes remained from the wave and they were standing strong.

Placing his weapon horizontally before him, Natsu was able to block the charge of a mole. Taking a deep breath, he used all of the few points he put into strength to push the mole away, directly into one of Ken's sword skills. As the monster fall apart into polygons, he used the small pause to chuck down a health potion, before lashing out and catching one of the moles attacking Klein in the side, allowing the red-haired samurai to drink a similar potion.

They were doing really well. Their circle hasn't been breached yet and no more enraged moles appeared. From the initial thirty of them only around sixteen, maybe seventeen remained. Thankfully, without being able to burrow into the ground and attack from behind they were not that hard to deal with even with their increased number. They drank health potions often, to regenerate lost health and because of that, no one slipped into the red zone yet. Ken, Klein, and Natsu were in the yellow zone, but all of them had around 40-45 percent of their max health. The shielders, Basil and Dynamn, and Dale were doing better, all were in the green zone currently healthwise, having around 70 percent of their health remaining.

"Keep it up!" he yelled out to the others as he once again engaged a mole."It's almost over."

Sadly, no matter how well they fared until now, they began to tire. While it did not reflect on their stats, the oncoming horde of monsters attacking them, the fighting they done earlier today began to take its toll. Mental fatigue slowed their reactions down, made it harder to raise their swords after each strike. Even the smaller number of moles worked against them. With fewer of them, the moles were free to maneuver around them and to dodge their attacks. It was only a question of time before one of them made a mistake.

They had less than a minute on the timer when the inevitable happened. A cry rang out in the middle of a battle. Natsu turned towards the sound and found Dale lying on his back, his sword a few feet away from him. He timed a block wrong and lost his balance. Unfortunately, a mole was almost on him, ready to attack the unguarded player. Not far from there Basil tried to reach Dale, but he himself had a mole on him that he was barely able to hold back.

Surveying the situation, he quickly reached a decision. He caught Ken's eyes and the other boy seemed to know what he was planning. With a nod Ken slashed at the enemy Natsu was fighting against it, forcing back and giving the brown-haired boy room to move.

"Basil!" he cried out, the shield user reflexively turning his attention to him. "Switch!" with that Natsu began to run in Dale's direction.

As they passed each other, Natsu raised his sword atop his shoulder and despite the distance of a few feet, he activated a sword skill. Sonic Leap is a charge-type Sword Skill that consists of a single top to bottom vertical slash, and also allows the user to charge from over twice the distance in an instant. His sword shining with blue light, Natsu soared through the air, reaching Dale just before a critical attack could land on the downed man. Catching the mole above him completely unaware, Natsu was able to strike it with his attack, pushing away the mob. Unfortunately, the skill cooldown left him defenseless against the mole that a moment ago was fighting Basil, a basic attack hitting him on the side.

His side flared up in agony, Natsu gritted his teeth trying to fight the pain. He was able to stay on his feet and as soon as his body responded to his thoughts, he spun around and sent a Horizontal against his attacker. By that time another mole neared him to attack him, but a large two-handed sword cut off its path, pushing back the monster.

Natsu smiled in thanks at Dale who gave a thumbs up in response.

"Thanks for the save." he told the younger boy."Let's get back to it."

With that, they continued holding back the monsters. Thankfully after this, they were able to hold out without incident and the next time Natsu looked at the timer, it just reached zero once again. He wanted to tell the others, but the moles stopped their attacking as a huge earthquake shook the whole cavern. It was so powerful that they had difficulty not falling to the ground. Klein almost lost his balance but was able to stay on his feet with some weird dance-like motions.

Natsu was worried about the remaining enraged moles, but they weren't attacking. They looked scared. As soon the trembling stopped the few that survived the past five minutes retreated to their tunnel and disappeared without trance. At the same time, a new window appeared before him.

"What's going on?" asked Dynamn who looked tense and ready for a surprise attack.

"The third part of the quest." answered Natsu, who once again stared at a new timer."The last enemy is the mini-boss, Berserker Mole. It'll appear in less than a minute. Everyone, drink up potions and get ready."

The others followed his suggestion and drank the last of their potions, Hopefully, this fight wouldn't go on much longer, it was doubtful if they will be able to keep up.

"That's some intense quest alright." commented Klein as he swiped the sweat off his brows. He, like the others, looked very haggard and tired."Fortunately, we have a full party, instead of half that we started or it would be much much worse."

Basil shot Natsu a look that basically said 'told you so'. He wanted to leave the quest half-finished, to rest and prepare, but Natsu was very adamant on finishing as soon as possible. He blushed a little at that, but ultimately the brown-haired boy ignored this, focusing on the fight coming their way.

They once again formed a loose circle on the top of the rock. Sadly they did not have any information on their last enemy, save for its name. They had to figure out things on the fly, not their preferred tactic but it would have to do. As the timer slowly counted down, Natsu began to feel an itch on the back of his neck, a feeling as if he was not safe where he was. The feeling grew and grew, until every part of his body told him one thing: move away!

"Move!" he yelled out, earning confused glances from the others."Get away from the rock." he told them as he quickly jumped down to the ground.

„What's the big idea?" asked Dale confused, but Ken grabbed his arm and began to drag him along. Ken and Basil knew Natsu well enough to obey him when he tells them something like that. Luckily Klein and Dynamn followed suit even though they didn't get what was wrong.

All of them left the rock and thankfully just in time. A moment later the timer reached zero and the rock they survived on the 5-minute wave of enraged moles was blasted into tiny pieces before even those pieces burst into polygons. From the hole that remained a huge body jumped out, causing the six players to pale as they caught sight of it.

The Berserker Mole, because it couldn't be anything else was unlike any of those they faced before. It was huge, the side of a small house actually, with angry red fur covering its body. It was also littered with scars of various sizes, spreading through most of its body, especially near its face. Two full health bars appeared next to it. Thankfully while it was stronger than the average mob, it wasn't a 'proper' boss at least. Also, the Berserker Mole is yet to notice them.

"That was a close one, thanks Natsu." said Klein who watched the place where they stood a second ago with absolutely no expression on his face."Hopefully, this big guy can't go underground, right?" he tried to joke, but it fell flat on the others who stared at the mole in shock.

As if that was its clue, the Berserker Mole turned towards them, huffing as if it was a boar. Natsu watched the monster for a silent second as it began to charge towards them, before jumping into action.

"Basil, Dynamn get ready to block. Everyone keep your distance until we know more about its attacks."

They reacted accordingly, the two shield users successfully blocking the first charge. After that they carefully positioned themselves, trying to get a read on the boss.

They were in luck, the boss didn't seem inclined to burrow into the ground. It also lacked any special skills, but what it had was brute strength. An attack caught Ken unaware, the glancing attack sending him flying and taking out a good chunk of his hp. They placed the two shield users on the opposite part of the cave, the two used their taunt skills alternatively, not letting the boss focus on one player too much. Meanwhile, the others attacked it from the side whenever they could, gradually decreasing its health. They tried to keep a distance from each other, not wanting the boss to use an AOE attack, like what happened with the first-floor boss.

Slowly but surely, the boss was on its last legs. But Natsu and the others were the end of their ropes too. What few health potions they had left, were mostly used up by now, and the exhaustion began to take its toll more than ever. Basil looked ready to drop down, and honestly, Natsu felt the same, but they needed to hold out, they were so close.

The Berserker Mole charged once again, but Dynamn was able to block it, though he almost lost his balance due to the sheer power of the monster.

"Don't let up! Finish this!" yelled out Klein as he and the others charged the boss, sword skills lighting up their weapons.

Because the Berserker Mole had so little health left, they had Dynamn stop its charge so while it suffered its own cooldown they could land their strongest attacks and end this fight. Ken and Klein from the left, while Dale, Basil, and Natsu attacked from the right.

Natsu reached the boss, his strongest sword skill, Sharp Nail already initiated and ready to use. The three-hit combo skill's first attack was a diagonal slash from the bottom right to the top left that landed just behind the mole's right foreleg, Next, he unleashed a horizontal slash before made a full clockwise spin ending it with another diagonal slash, this time from the top left to the bottom right.

The Berserker Mole tried thrashing around, but t was in vain. As all of their sword skills dealt damage one after another, soon its hp reached zero. With a last cry, the monster burst into polygons, much to the relief of Natsu and the others.

Exhaustion finally succumbing to him, Natsu fell on his back, not feeling any strength in his body. The others likewise lied or sat down, trying to get back their breaths. Thankfully, a silence enveloped the cavern and no more enemies spawned.

Dale, who was sprawled out next to him, asked the most relevant question.

"This is the end of the quest, right? Please, tell me there won't be another wave of enemies."

Natsu strained his neck a little to see the window before him properly and let out a relieved smile at the words 'Quest Successful'.

"This is it." he told them."We've completed the quest."

The others let out laughs and cheers at the news, despite how tired all of them felt.

"Then, there is only one question left." muttered Klein who was lying face down, apparently too tired to roll over."How do we get out of here?"

Nobody answered him until they heard a creaking noise. At the other end of the dave, there was a door that none of them noticed until now, which was slowly opening, hence the noise.

-0-

"Were you successful, brave heroes? Did you stop the menace that terrorized our city?" asked the old man who issued the quest when the six players walked up to him.

After they rested for a while, they set out to see where the tunnel led them to. Interestingly enough, they ended up near the east tunnel entrance of Dokut. All of them were dirty and tired, but they walked up to the old man with large smiles on their faces. Since he was the one who shared the quest in the group, Natsu stepped forward.

"We did. The Berserker Mole is defeated." he reassured him.

As soon as the words registered, the old man's body relaxed and the worry lines on his face softened. When a single tear rolled down the side of his face, Natsu absently wondered how lifelike the game was.

"Thank you, young heroes." he told them heartfully."I will be forever in your debt."

When he finished speaking, the exclamation mark above his head disappeared, signifying the end of the quest. A window opened before everyone informing them of their success and giving out the necessary col and experience reward. Natsu was confused at first because he didn't see the promised weapon, but before he could voice it, he caught movement from the old man. He was holding a clothed bundle in front of him, offering it to Natsu. A part of the cloth fell away revealing a sword sheath.

"I am old. I wouldn't have much use of it anymore. But it will serve you faithfully." with that he handed the sword to Natsu.

"Thank you." he said as he touched the sword. The sword disappeared, sent directly to his inventory. With his task done, the old man simply stood back and stared motionlessly.

The others gathered around Natsu, wanting to know what kind of weapon he got. In response, he unequipped his current sword and began to scroll through his inventory to equip his newest find.

As the weapon appeared in his hands in a show of light, Natsu widened his eyes in wonder. In his hands rested a beautiful longsword. It did not have a crossguard, instead, the blade widened a little where it met the handle to offer some protection to the user's hand. The handle was blue, with some gold at the crossguard and at the pummel. The blade's edge was shining silver, while the inner part was a lot darker. There was a green line that ran through the middle of the blade, from how the light broke on it, Natsu through it was some kind of gem. All in all, it was an impressive piece of work.

"Benevolent." breathed its name Natsu, completely overtaken by its appearance.

"That's some cool looking sword, alright." whistled Klein in amazement."Just be sure to take good care of it.

Natsu nodded, with a firm expression as he sheathed the sword.

"Look at you, a proper hero, ready to take his first step." teased Dynamn, causing the young boy to erupt in a blush. The others laughed good-naturedly.

They continued teasing the poor boy until they slowly walked up to the teleport gate. Here, they disbanded the party, ready to go their ways.

"Well, time to split. I had fun with you guys, call us if you ever need help or just want to hang out." said Klein, while he sent friend requests to the three boys."Take care alright. We will meet you at the top of the castle." he joked, causing Ken and Natsu to laugh at his antics.

"Thanks for the help." said Natsu, as he accepted the requests from the three older men."The same for you. Let's meet again."

"Just maybe not in the middle of a dungeon next time." joked Ken, causing the others to laugh.

Natsu made a face as if he suddenly remembered something.

"I remember now. I know where I heard your name before." he said to a surprised Klein."Kirito-san told me about you."

Hearing the name a soft smile appeared on the samurai's face.

"He did? Is he doing okay?"

"Yeah, last I saw him." nodded Natsu.

"Good to hear. If you saw him, tell him I told him to take care." said Klein, before all of them said their goodbyes."Later."

As the members of Fuurinkazam walked away, Natsu couldn't find it himself to stop smiling.

"Let's go. Before Lisbeth-san closes for the day." Basil reminded him, spurring him into motion.

-0-

The sun was going down, and Lisbeth was ready to close up shop and go home to the inn she was staying in. She was one of the last ones still out in the market, almost all of the players left by now. She only stayed because she hoped Natsu and his little group would be back since they left in such a hurry. They were some of the few friends she found in this game and thought she could at least wait for them. But seemed like their quest took a little much time.

"Well there is always tomorrow." she said in the end and began to put away the few weapons she had out on her stall as merchandise.

Before she could get very far however she was interrupted by a loud voice.

"Lis-chan! Wait!" running towards her from the other end of the market were three young boys she knew very well. They were dirty but had large smiles on their faces and the blacksmith could see a mile away the new sword on Natsu's back.

"Hey guys, you sure took your time." she greeted them with a smile.

"Sorry, the quest took some time." replied sheepishly Ken, while he scratched the back of his head.

"Don't need to tell me twice."Lis said, before eying the sword proudly displayed on the brown-haired boy's back."Is that?"

Natsu proudly drew his sword, before twirling it a few times just to look cool.

"It's the quest reward, Benevolent. Check it out." he said, while he showed her the sword to be able to see its stats. Lis's eyes widened as she examined the blade, a beautiful craftmanship.

"No kidding. That's a lot more powerful than most swords available in the 4th and 5th floors." after that, she gave a pointed stare to the boy."And you want to try your luck even more by upgrading it now?"

"What can I say, I'm feeling lucky." answered Natsu, a little blush forming on his face.

"All right then. Let's do it!" said Lis, completely fired up, before grabbing her trusty hammer.

-0-

As dinner time arrived, all five members of Team Natsu gathered together. When Agil discovered about their adventure, they were subjected to the lectures of lectures, while Buzz was sitting on the sidelines 'pleading the fifth'.

By the time Agil seemed to think that they had enough, all three boys wanted to hide in a deep hole. Since the game began, Agil and Buzz mostly were treating them as equals. They were able to prove that they could fight, and after a while, something like age became irrelevant if they wanted to survive. So for Agil to scold them as if he was their parent, it a very strange experience after so long. Especially for Natsu and Basil, the first because his mother rarely scolded him or told him that he was doing something wrong, and for the latter, it had been a few years since anybody treated him like a little kid.

After he finished his tirade, Agil looked at the guilty faces of the three kids, before he let out a sigh.

"At least you came back safe and sound and that's what matters in the end. Now, show me that sword, was it worth the risk?" he said and in the end, Natsu gave a sheepish smile.

He handed his sword to the older man, letting him appraise it.

"That's one fine sword, that's for sure. Have you upgraded it yet?" he asked as he gave the sword back.

"Yeah, we were able to catch Lis just in time, to give it a few." nodded Natsu as he put the sword into his inventory.

"Did you sent Argo the info on the quest?" asked Buzz, finally taking part in the discussion.

"It was one of the first things we did after we arrived back to Dokut," said Basil with a nod.

"She said, she will tell me if the sword reward turns out to be a one-time deal or not." added Natsu.

That was the end of the discussion, so they went to eat. They eat some kind of miso soup or something resembling it in the inn they chose to stay. It was at the end of the meal, that Agil once again spoke up.

"I almost forgot." he said, gaining the attention of the others."I spent the majority of the day looking for a suitable guild base."

"A guild base? What for?" wondered aloud Ken.

"We thought it's time to make a guild." answered Buzz, speaking as if that was not a big deal. "We have all the prerequisites for it and sooner or later it will be the guilds, not individual players that will fight on the for the few solo players who can keep up." he added, probably thinking of a certain black swordsman."And we thought it would be better to have our guild to be able to stay together."

"It sounds good. It would also nice to have a place of our own." added Basil, nodding in agreement.

"What would our name be?" wondered aloud Natsu.

"I know!" cried out Ken with enthusiasm."Why don't we take the first letter of all of our names." he then began to contemplate it, before he brightened up once again."I got it. We will be the NKABB!"

Even though he had such a proud expression on his face, the other simply deadpanned at him, with Natsu audibly groaning and lifting his head toward the ceiling as if asking for help from the heavens.

"You are still not allowed to name things!"


	6. Level 6 The Birth of a Swordsman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fifth floor boss fight is upon the players and the time for Natsu to shine

**Level 6 The birth of a swordsman**

"I feel so nervous."

Natsu was adjusting the sword on his back for the ninth time since they arrived in Dokut. The relatively small city was full of various players, unlike the last time they were here. But the atmosphere was far from light. Everyone wore grim expressions, some looked nervous, some eager, but everyone was in full fighting gear. They were the best of the ten thousand players, those who risked every day at the front lines. The Assault Team.

The five of them walking through the city with purpose, Buzz leading them on the crowded streets. Natsu was a few steps behind him, with Ken and Basil, Agil taking the position of the rear guard. For a strange moment, Natsu thought it looked ed like he was some kind of royalty surrounded by guards.

"Why? It isn't the first time you take part in the boss meeting.." asked Buzz from the front, his lazy demeanor was quite a contrast to Natsu's nerves.

"It's different. This is the first time we come as a guild, the first battle as the Keepers of the Seven Rings." he insisted stubbornly.

After a long while, they were able to choose a suitable name thanks to Basil. He remembered a tale from Natsu's dad, and it still threw the boy for a loop that Basil knew his father much more than him, about an ancestor of his who formed a vigilante group in Italy. He was said to have seven special rings that identified him and his friends who formed the core of the group. Hence, they were named the Keepers of the Seven Rings, especially because Agil talked with Biggs and Wedge who also decided to join the new guild, thus making their group a full seven.

As much as it meant to them to have a guild, Natsu also was right in that it would alter their perceptions in the eyes of the other members of the assault team. With the need to organized and the human need of forming groups, the guilds garnered more and more importance especially with the steadily increasing number of players who wanted to take part. Solo players or small groups not in a guild were given less and less voice on the decisions as they slowly but surely fell behind the players in guilds. The obvious exception being the infamous black swordsman.

Already, there were three guilds that taken a center position. One was the MMO today, led by the writer of the news programmer of the same name. They had a large collection of veteran players who also took care of a lot of lower-level players who wanted to join the frontlines.

The second was the Aincrad Liberation Force, led by that jerk Kibaou. He still harbored a grudge against the beta players, especially Kirito and unfortunately he got quite a crowd to listen to his idiocy. Buzz said not to worry about him, if all the idiots gather to him, at least they would be easier to keep track of. Natsu didn't really understand that, but if nothing else it could be said about Kibaou's guild that it consisted of an impressive fighting force. Of course, they jealously guarded information and farming spots, much like what Kibaou accused the former beta testers of doing.

The third major guild was the Kaiser Dragons, the strongest guild in terms of average player level. They were a ferocious and aggressive guild, the best example was their leader, Lind. He was a stubborn man who couldn't deal with not being one to call the shots, thus creating a lot of unnecessary tension on boss meetings. He was also very antagonistic towards Kirito but left the rest of the betas alone.

"Well then, I guess we better impress all of them." joked Ken with a carefree grin. Natsu gave a small in return and began to talk with the curved-sword user. From behind them, Agil smiled at the two little kids, happy they were distracted.

-0-

"Guys, little boss. Glad you could make it." Wedge greeted them cheerily when they made it to the square where most of the Assault team were meeting. There were around eighty people gathered here, thankfully their fighting force was getting stronger and stronger thanks to new players joining and the fact that no cleaner died in boss battle up until now.

Biggs was, as usual, standing beside his brother, smiling kindly at the group. Both of them were sporting new equipment, geared for battle. They were standing next to a group of players wearing red, samurai-like armor that looked familiar. As they neared them, a red-haired man with a bandana stepped out of the group, greeting them with an easygoing smile.

"Look who turned up. It's the NaBaKen squad." Klein joked much to Natsu's dismay.

Inwardly groaning, because Ken simply couldn't be trusted with naming things, Natsu hurried forward to greet his friends with Ken and Basil following just as excitedly.

"Hey, Biggs, Wedge." he greeted his guildmates with a big smile, before turning. "Klein-san, please don't ever utter that name again." he pleaded the older man. He simply chuckled at the young boy, Dale, and Dynamn joining him.

"Don't call me 'san' and we have a deal. It makes me feel old." he wisely ignored Dale coughing and telling him that he is old. "Anyway, these guys also from our guild, old buddies who I came here to play." he gestured to the other 3 players wearing red armor, before turning to them."These guys are Natsu, Ken, and Basil, they were the ones who we teamed up a few days ago."

"Nice to meet you." the three boys greeted them.

"So this is the famous fuurinkazan that I have been hearing about?" asked Agil with a small smile as he walked next to them. "Thanks for looking after these kids when they went over their heads." he nodded in gratitude towards Klein. Natsu felt the urge to pout, Agil to this day wouldn't let him forget that he didn't approve of their latest adventure.

"Nah, these fellas saved our hides just as much, we're pretty even." answered Klein, before his eyes wandered over the sword on Natsu's back."How's the sword treating you?"

"The very best. I love this sword." Natsu even patted a sword a little, as if making sure it was still on him.

„That's an understatement if I heard one." snorted Buzz, who had a few words with Wedge before joining the conversation."I wouldn't be surprised if he slept with the thing."

"That's not true." Natsu cried out in protest, much to the amusement of the others around him.

"But we needed to remind him a few times to unequip it." said Ken with a sly smile, causing Natsu to blush in embarrassment and the others to burst out laughing.

Even as they teased him about his sword for a little while, he couldn't find it himself to be angry. Looking around most of the players still looked grim, but at least those closer to them looked a lot relaxed. It was something he appreciated about Klein, his ability to remain positive. Buzz told him before it could be detrimental to be too focused on something, just as much as being uncaring and before a boss battle they could use a little lightheartedness.

While the others talked with each other, Natsu looked around and soon found a familiar swordsman wearing black standing alone a little away from everyone else. When Kirito caught his eyes, the older boy gave him a simple nod, before closing his eyes and began napping from the look of it.

"That Kirito, looks like he's too cool to join us." Klein's quiet voice sounded next to him amused. Looking up Natsu was the samurai was looking in the same direction where Kirito was, before turning back and talking with Ken and Wedge.

Soon conversations died when the guild leaders of the three biggest guilds arrived and led the representatives to a smaller room. Because it was problematic to form a strategy with so many people trying to give input since the 3rd floor each guild sent their representatives to form a small war council. Large guilds like the Kaiser Dragons or the Aincrad Liberation Force had 3 representatives each, giving them a larger voice in the proceedings. Most guilds could only send two, and a small like theirs or Klein's guild was permitted only one. Still, it was much better, than the solo players who could also have one representative and if they couldn't come to an agreement in time about who to send, then even that was forfeited.

Even though in the registry Natsu was named leader of their guild, for some reason neither Agil nor Buzz objected to Ken's idea, they decided to send in Buzz, who was the most knowledgable regarding bosses. From Fuurinkazan, Klein was one to leave and he even saw Argo slip in quietly, no doubt there wouldn't be anyone who would object to her presence.

They sit down around each other, talking softly and waiting for the meeting to end.

"This is so boring. Why do we need to wait out here?" complained Ken after twenty minutes passed and no sign came that their wait was over.

"Can't be helped. It will happen sooner or later, as we grew more and more in number. Figuring things out with a smaller group is much easier. Bear with it." said Wedge, who looked the most patient out of all of them, save for Agil.

"But it's sure is strange." said Dynamn who sat a little away from them." Next thing we know we will have politicians next. I mean, the hierarchy among the guilds are already forming. If we have to vote for a president, soon I wouldn't be able to which is the real world, this or the one where our bodies are." he scratched his head sheepishly as others gave him strange looks.

Natsu looked down to his feet, feeling a little bit saddened at the topic.

"The real word..." he murmured so softly only those who sat near him heard it."There are some days when I don't even think about it while farming and searching for the boss room. I feel like that any day now, I wake up forgetting the real world completely.

He looked up when Agil patted his head, a gentle smile on his face.

"Humans adapt. We adapt to face these challenges without anything disturbing our focus. And when we will go back home, we will surely find our place in our old lives." he finished with a small laugh. Reassured Natsu smiled back at him.

"Well as lifelike as this game is, there are still a lot of things I miss from the outside." said Wedge with a big grin."First of all, that horrible male-female ratio. I need to get out of here before the sight of so many dudes becomes ingrained in my memory." Of course, at that everyone began to laugh loudly and began to tell each other what they miss the most.

"The taste of a juicy steak. The game's engine just can't properly recreate something like that." said Dale, nodding to himself to reaffirm his point.

„There's no baseball here." added Ken lost in thought.

"No other games to play if you get bored of this one." added one other member of Fuurinkazan, laughing to himself.

"Mom's cooking." added softly Natsu, thinking of how his mother was fairing.

"The feeling of holding and reading a real book." said Dynamn wistfully, shrugging when others looked at him in question.

"The smell of flowers." said Biggs to the surprise of many."What? I like their smell."

They talked for a few more minutes when without warning the doors leading to the meeting room opened up and the representatives stepped out, most of them wearing a frown on their faces. Buzz and Klein went towards them, neither looking particularly pleased. Argo was following them a few steps behind and though her hood concealed her face, Natsu got the feeling that she was also not in the greatest of moods.

"What happened?" he blurted out when they reached them. In response, Buzz shook his head.

"Let's get out of here first." he said and began to lead them out. Klein signaled his guildmates to get going down and the two guilds left together accompanied by Argo.

-0-

"This is ridiculous." complained Klein as he slumped down to his chair.

They were seating in a large inn, occupying the two largest tables that were next to each other, with Fuurinkazan at one and the Keepers of Seven Rings plus Argo at the other. Natsu was sitting between Ken and Argo, who has yet to tease him. If that was not a worrying sign, nothing would be.

"What is ridiculous?" asked Agil after seeing that similarly to Klein, Buzz, and Argo were fuming too much, albeit silently, to elaborate without being prompted.

"The strategy for the fifth boss battle, that's what." answered gruffly Buzz, before exhaling sharply, trying to calm down."Since this floor gave us so much trouble, they are being cautious about the approach of the boss. It wouldn't be a problem if they didn't decide to do it the way they did."

"You probably know from the beta book, that the floor boss is Fucus, the Vacant Colossus." Argo took over the exclaiming, a frown prominent even through her cowl."It wasn't overly hard to defeat even in beta, but there is one big complication. In the beta some of its special attacks literally opened up the floor of the boss room, letting small rivers of lava pour in, that was instant kill for any player who couldn't get out of them in five seconds." she finished grimly, causing a few others to pale. Going out in a river of lava, not the way anyone wanted to end their journey."We also had to factor in the fact, that every boss up until now had a slightly different behavior or attack pattern compared to beta."

"Then it seems logical to be cautious, isn't it? What's the problem?" asked Basil not understanding their frustration.

"The problem is they are basically using us as pawns!" roared out Klein, angrily punching his hand into the table.

"Since almost half of the assault team belongs to one of the three biggest guilds," explained Argo," it was them deciding without much input from the others. They decided that half of the raiding party will consist of their men, 8 from each guild and the other 24 will consist of smaller guilds and a couple of solo players."

"Out of the smaller guilds, we and the fuurinkazan are the ones with the highest average level, we were asked to participate. Along with Kirito." told them Buzz, who finally calmed down.

"Still not seeing the problem. I mean it sucks that they are telling us who could go to a raid, but it was like this since the 3rd floor." added his thoughts Wedge, still looking confused.

"Their battle strategy is to send the small guilds and solos to fight the boss and held back the other half of the raid until they learn more about the boss' pattern." answered Klein, silently glowering at the table.

"But that's insane." cried out Natsu in shock. Holding back half of the raid party is just asking for unnecessary danger and casualties.

"That's what we told them, but they didn't listen." said the red-haired samurai.

"I can't imagine MMO Today going along with it. The other two, no surprise." said Agil with furrowed brows.

"Thinker tried to protest it," told them Buzz, then added when caught Ken and Basil sharing a confused look." he is the leader of MMO Today. But Lind and Kibaou pressured him into agreeing. Unfortunately, while MMO Today is quite a large guild, it is not solely focused on the frontlines like the other two. As much as he tries to stonewall their more radical ideas, even he has to give in sometimes. It' just one of those times." explained Buzz, leaving the two tables in silence.

Argo opened up a window in front of her and from the looks of it, she was messaging with somebody when Natsu spoke up feeling a little uncertain.

"Then what do we do?" he asked, mostly the older members. At first, everyone was silent before Wedge took it upon himself to speak up.

"We go and defeat the boss, isn't that right?" as the others looked at him a little surprised, with a sigh, he explained himself."The situation is simple. Whether we go or not, they will go through that suicidal idea, only then it will not be us who will be on the line of fire. And we have the best chance out of all smaller guilds to make it out alive.

"He is not wrong." chimed in Argo, with a barely noticeable smile."You guys have the best levels and equipment from the Assault team not counting the three big guilds and even then it's not that much of a gap between you and them. You also work well as a guild and from what I have seen just now, you will be able to work well even as a bigger group." she told them, eying every one of them seriously."If we want to avoid casualties resulting from that idiotic plan, you guys are the best chance we got."

No one spoke for a while, each of them trying to digest what they heard. In the end, it was Klein who broke the silence after he shared a significant look with each of his guildmates.

"We are in." he told Argo simply who nodded with a small smile. All members of the keepers of seven rings looked at Natsu who blinked in bewilderment.

"What?" he asked simply.

"You are the guild leader. It should be your choice." said Agil, silently chuckling to himself at the look on the young boy's face.

"That's right, little boss. Just say the word and we will follow you." added Wedge.

"But I can't decide something that affects all of us. It's too important." protested Natsu, a little freaked out at so much pressure on himself.

"Either we go or we won't. We are fine either way." said Basil, causing the young boy to look over him. He gave a small, understanding smile."We will follow you, Natsu-dono."

"You have yet to lead us astray." Ken told him, as he reassuringly patted his shoulder."We trust you."

Natsu felt overwhelmed a little by the faith they had in him, and a few tears gathered in his eyes. He quickly rubbed his eyes and seriously looked at his guildmates. He remembered all the adventures, all the good times he had with them. The first days, with Agil and Buzz. Meeting Ken and helping him to find hope. The first floor battle with Biggs and Wedge. Their latest adventure for his sword and meet Klein and his friends.

He couldn't back down. Not now when they came so far when they became so much stronger together. He once again surveyed his friends' faces before looking at Argo and giving a firm nod.

"We are in." the others applauded joined by Klein and his friends at the news, while Argo just smiled and quickly wrote a message to someone. From across the table, he saw Buzz give him an approving nod.

"Guess we better get some more potions. Can't be too careful." thought out Ken aloud, the others nodding in agreement.

"We should also check our equipment that it's in the best shape." added Basil, casing Natsu to chuckle sheepishly.

"Guess a trip to Lis-chan in order?" he asked. Suddenly a pair of arms snaked around his neck and he felt the weight of a light body on top of him.

"Lis-chan? Don't tell me Na-kun already has a girlfriend." wailed Argo in mock-sadness as she draped her body on him. "But I thought what we had was really special. How could you do this to a poor maiden's heart, Na-kun?" Natsu looked at the others for help, especially when Argo began to cry loudly into his neck, but found everyone laughing merrily at the rat's antics or his own helplessness. But no one, not even Ken and Basil moved to help him out. The traitors.

"Didn't know that Natsu was that much of a Casanova." joked Klein, causing a new round of laughter from the two guilds.

Natsu could only try to get free from the clutches of Argo to no avail, asking himself a very relevant question 'Why me?'.

-0-

"How does it look?" asked Natsu as he stepped towards the others, clad in his new armor.

In preparation for today's boss battle, the day before along with a few last upgrades on his weapons and potions, Natsu went and spent the last of his money on an armor set that caught his eye a while ago. The Young Lion armor was a lightweight armor that offered much more defense than his previous armor and even gave a bonus in agility, rounding out his stats nicely and not slowing him down in the slightest.

The armor consisted of an orange 'lion' hide under clothes, coupled with a steel chest plate, arm, and shin braces and two also had an orange fur collar and a similarly orange half-cape hanging from his left shoulder. To make the armor more distinctive, the left pauldron was also slightly larger and had the motif of a lion on orange on it.

"It looks very good on you, Natsu-dono." answered Basil earnestly. He also wore new armor, his closer to the typical armor of a knight save for the lack of helmet. The others instead of buying new gear decided to spend their money more on strengthening what they already had, so only he and Basil was wearing 'fresh' armor.

"I just noticed right now," spoke up Ken who was checking his menu."But this the 31st today. This is the last day of this year." Natsu gained a solemn look on his face as he thought about the implications.

"Almost two months since the game began." he murmured.

"Looks like it would be a cool way to celebrate the new year with beating the upcoming boss." joked Wedge lightheartedly, causing the younger members to smile and nod in agreement.

"Everyone ready?" asked Agil, as he seriously looked at each of his comrades. Seeing the resolute look on all of their faces, he nodded with a small smile. "Then, time to face the 5th-floor boss." with quiet agreements, the Keepers of the Seven Rings left their lodging.

On the way to the central square of the town where the raiding party gathered, they meet up with Fuurinkazaan. Klein and his five friends only nodded in greeting, before falling into step beside them. After the short walk they arrived, most of the others already there. Lind was standing tall surrounded by the members of the three guilds, looking completely stoic and unapproachable. It was 'decided' that he would lead to the assault, much to Buzz's annoyance. He said that Lind was an arrogant fool who knew about tactics as much as a newborn.

"Well, I'm off. Don't die." said Buzz as he slowly walked away. Because a group could only consist of up to six players, Buzz decided he will join Kirito and a few other former beta testers to help coordinate.

They waited around in silence until everyone arrived, but Natsu was getting bored. He considered trying to find Kirito to ask about the boss when he spied Argo walking towards them.

"Argo-s...Argo-chan," he added seeing the warning look she gave him as she stopped before them."What are you doing here?"

"Just seeing off my favorite customers," she told him with a smile, but he could see the small hint of worry on what little of her face showed beneath the hood.

"Thanks, but no need. We got this in the bag. We have our leader here with us after all." laughed loudly Ken, throwing an arm around Natsu. It seems like he was not the only one to pick up on Argo's mood.

"Good to know. Then, I can write about your heroics without any worry." responded Argo with a toothy smile, causing Natsu to stop squirming under Ken's arm.

"Write? What are you talking about?" he wondered curiously.

Argo straightened herself out, and with wildly dramatic motions she announced her newest project.

"I decided to write something of a newspaper about the frontline, starting with this boss battle. This way lower-level players or those who haven't even left the City of Beginning could get informed about how we are doing." Natsu frowned a little as he heard this. It was not a bad idea, but he couldn't see what the profit-oriented Rat could gain from all of this."Of course, only the basic info and a little teaser would be free. Anybody who wants more would have to come to me, with my generous prices on the information of all kinds." that explained the situation perfectly.

"Well, where would be our cut in this, if you make money out of us?" asked Klein, grinning widely at the mention of money. Argo just crossed her arms unimpressed through the corner of her mouse was curling upward.

"I could just ban you from all the information you need?" challenged the information broker, causing Klein to immediately back down with a quiet „I'm good."

"Is everything about money with you?" Natsu couldn't help but ask, the in hindsight quite rude question.

In response Argo only grabbed him by the front of his armor and pulled him towards her, causing his head to land on the top of her cleavage, much to his embarrassment. Before he could escape, her arms closed around his head trapping his head in a quite interesting position. The others behind her laughed or wolf-whistled seeing him like this, none louder than Klein.

"Of course not. There are a lot of other things I value. After all, I can't have my Na-kun seduced by anyone other than me." she teased him with a wide smile before she released him and gave a kiss to his cheek. Imitating a tomato, Natsu could only watch as she sauntered away victoriously. The others tried to tease him for a while, but apparently, his brain was fried and he became nonresponsive.

The next thing he became aware of, Lind had enough of waiting around and the raiding party started their march towards the dungeon through the dark, narrow tunnels of the floor. Their group was in the back, walking calmly and looking out for any trouble. Unlike when they went to the first boss' room, they didn't have to worry about monsters very much. With their increased numbers, they were able to form a scouting party of those who didn't make it into the raid party, they were sent a little before them, to ensure safe passage to the boss room.

Natsu looked around and saw Kirito walking not far from them, along with the rapier user Asuna who he worked together in the battle against Ilfang. She was a girl a few years older than him, with long chestnut hair and a slightly regal look to her. From what he heard most of the players already called her one of the prettiest girls in Aincrad and was very popular because of it. He heard from Argo that despite the whole lone-wolf attitude he had, the black swordsman had teamed up with somebody and he wasn't surprised it was someone he already had some experience with. With a few hurried steps, he walked up to them, greeting them with a smile.

"Hello Kirito-san, Asuna-san. How are you?" the beater only nodded in response to the greeting while Asuna responded in kind with a small smile.

"We are fine, thank you. And you, Natsu-kun?" she trailed off a little, looking unsure. It was no surprise they never been introduced. After the first floor battle, during the commotion they didn't have a chance to speak, and afterward the few times he talked with Kirito, the older boy was by himself.

They chatted for a while, Natsu finding her kind and fun company. She didn't seem to look down on him because of his age and similarly, he didn't find anything wrong with her being female. He, after all, saw Lis shatter monsters with her hammer and Argo, well that one was self-explanatory. As they finished speaking, he remembered the original reason he walked up to them and turned towards Kirito.

"Kirito-san?" he called out and the swordsman turned his head towards him. No doubt he ignored their earlier chatter and only decided to focus when he was spoken to."What can you tell about the boss? The guide has a little on him, but I would like to know what was it like when you faced it down in the beta." at that Asuna also turned towards the black-haired boy, interested in what he knew.

Kirito was silent for a second, trying to think about what to say, before turning towards his audience.

"The boss is very tall, so we can mostly target his legs until he loses his balance or kneels down in his last phase. Avoid his stumps, if you see his leg raised get away quickly. Avoid the lava streams, through in the beta the small cracks his attacks produced were pretty good indicators. Also, watch out for the knockdown effect." He seemed deep in thought for a minute, before looking intently at the two of them, delivering a piece of final advice. "The head is its weak point. If you can get in even one sword skill you could take down a whole bar of its health. You can climb up through his body if you have good enough agility and strength overall, but I advise against it. During the beta, a few players tried and any who failed and fell down died instantly. It was acceptable in the beta, but not here. Don't take any unnecessary risks." he finished staring straight at Natsu, as if he could see the young boy doing this. Thinking back to his stunt at the first boss battle, Natsu wasn't really surprised.

"I'll be careful." he promised, Kriito nodding in response.

Sensing the conversation was over, he went back to his group. He took his position beside Basil, while quietly telling the others what he learned from Kirito. It was not much, but every little thing counts in this death game.

They didn't have to walk for long, the labyrinth came into view. And thanks to the scouting group they only had to fight a few monsters on the way to the boss room, which was no challenge. As they stepped into a larger room, they came face to face with the door leading to the boss and if even the door is something intimidating then Natsu had to wonder how tough the boss will be. The door was so dark that it was a little hard to make out the details on it in the dimly lit room, but it was enormous. Natsu had to raise his head to be able to the upper part of the door. It was surrounded on two sides by two figures carved into the wall, seemingly struggling to keep the gate closed. Before the door, looking like ants compared to it, stood twelve players, the scouting party.

As they neared them a player stepped away from the others, approaching the arriving raid party. He was a huge, older man with thick, shaggy orange-brown curls and a small beard on his chin, wearing heavy armor and a two-handed sword on his back. Natsu heard about him, though he never spoke with him. His name was Godfree, a member of MMO Today. He was an easy-going man, but a force to be reckoned with in a fight. Natsu remembered that Godfree was the one who led the offense to take the 3rd-floor boss's attention when its sudden change in attack pattern caused severe injuries on a few players.

When he reached them he straightened his posture in an almost military fashion and gave his report.

"Everything looks clear. Good luck in there." he said as he stepped aside along with his party to make way for them.

Lind only gave a nod in acknowledgment before leading the others to the door. Stopping before it, he turned towards the gathered players, giving an impersonal speech about what lay before them and what the plan was to handle the boss. Natsu tuned out the man, one meeting with him was enough to know the man loved the sound of his voice and instead turned to share a few words with his friends before the fighting began.

"Stay safe, all of you." he whispered slowly, causing Wedge to chuckle lightly.

"We should be the ones to say that to you, little boss." said the older teen, causing Natsu to maturely stuck out his tongue at him.

"We got this in the bag. Don't worry so much." said Ken with a smile, lightly slapping his back. Though the black-haired boy seemed relaxed, Natsu knew him well enough by now, that he was just as worried as the rest of them, but he hid it better.

"-and we will be closer to our freedom!" roared Lind at the end of his speech and those who hadn't tuned him out completely roared back in enthusiasm. Their group only shared a last smile before they took their place in the formation as the door's leading to the boss slowly opened. Per the battle plan, the four groups containing the smaller guild and solos went in first, followed by the larger guilds' groups.

Klein's guild and the group containing Kirito, Asuna, and Buzz took the central position, while Natsu's group got the left-wing, the other group the right-wing. As the battle progressed they have to be careful not to completely surround the boss, nowadays it became common knowledge among the cleaners of the danger a boss' AOE skill could pose when it is surrounded. With one last look shared between each other, the first wave of the raid part began to advance stepping into the boss room.

The room they stepped into was enormous, likely three times as large as the one that housed Ilfang, the Kobold King. Like most of the floor it was a huge cave but if other caves were dark, stone caves, it was more like they found themselves in the middle of a volcano. The ground was black, volcanic rock and small cracks littered the walls, glowing hot red, lava probably. It was also extremely hot in here, Natsu already felt like he had to wipe the sweat off his forehead after a few steps into the room, even though their virtual bodies did not sweat.

Looking up, they could not see the ceiling, it was lost in the darkness. Most probably the room went up into the next floor. The far end of the room was shrouded in darkness, where the door leading to the next floor should be. No monster and more importantly no boss was in sight.

The four groups slowly inched forward cautiously, reacted to the slightest of sound, not wanting to be taken by surprise by the boss. As they neared the center of the rooming, they all heard a loud sound, the sound of rocks crashing with other rocks. Slowly a dark shape began to move from the direction of the darkened part of the room, with huge steps that caused the ground to ever so slightly tremble.

As Fucus stepped into view Natsu felt a moment of uncertainty. Sure, they knew the boss was big, but not that big. If he stood on Agil's shoulders maybe he would be on eye level with its knee, it was that big. Fucus' body was the same black rock that made this room, with red lines crossing the body, even giving some kind of grotesque face. As soon as it stepped into view four health bars appeared next to it and gave a deep roar signaling the beginning of the fight.

For a moment Natsu wanted to run away, away from this monster. They never had to fight something like this before, it was natural to feel frightened by something like this. Before he could do anything he felt a hand reassuringly grip his shoulder. Looking to the side he was met with Ken's confident grin. It calmed him down enough that he was able to shake off the fear the boss created. Natsu gave his friend a confident nod before facing the colossus.

Their group forced two lines, with Agil, Biggs, and Basil in front, who could easily shrug off a larger amount of damage, and Natsu, Ken, and Wedge behind them ready to deal as much as damage as they could the moment an opening was presented.

With a battle cry, Klein led his group into the battle, the other three groups quickly following his lead.

Thankfully the first part of the fight went very well. Fucus didn't have a complicated attack pattern, he only was able to stomp with his legs and swipe with his arms, he was also very slow so they only had to look out and react in time to avoid its attacks. Also after each attack, he was frozen for a few seconds, giving ample time for the cleaners to damage him. Because of its natural armor and the large amount of health it had, it was slow-going but they were getting there.

They were holding out well, though it would have been better if 48 people were fighting instead of 24. When he pulled back after he landed a powerful combination of sword skills, Natsu risked a look towards the waiting players. The two groups stayed in their place by the gate, though some of them looked impatient and ready to join them. But their leader –Lind- held them back even now.

As they slowly chipped away the first health bar, Fucus with a roar stomped down so hard that several cracks were created on the ground. Seeing a red crack appear just where they were standing, Natsu thankfully remembered his talk with Kritio earlier.

"Look out for the cracks!" he cried out both to his team and others who were near similar cracks."That's where the lava comes from."

They reacted swiftly, gaining some distance from them just in time. A few moments later the cracks they were standing on and similar others widened and began to slowly spill out lava. They got away, but they were also separated, with Biggs, Ken, and Basil on one side and him along Agil and Wedge on the other.

Agil surveyed the field before yelling at Ken's part of the group.

"Go, join Klein's group, we will be fine on our own." with a nod they went to join Klein and his friends who were the closest and were not cut off by a lava river, while Natsu, Agil, and Wedge took a little detour and soon found themselves fighting next to the group that was initially opposite of them.

Repeated stomps from the boss reopened and closed various rivers of lava, making finding a proper footing a nightmare. But thankfully they remained vigilant and were able to avoid them. Still, it worried Natsu that they were already becoming tired and the other half of the party still haven't joined into the fight.

Frightened cries caught his attention, causing him to look over the other side of the colossus. A swipe from the boss found a few players unaware, throwing them away, knocking them down. He spied a few of Klein's men amongst them, trying to stand up and get away as the boss focused on them. Natsu wanted to run to them, or attack the boss to focus it's attention elsewhere, but he was able to do neither. He was too far away from the other group and thanks to a new river opened in front of him, he couldn't reach Fuvus in time.

That's when the furious yells of an advancing group reached his ears. He first thought it was Klein, trying to reach his friend, but from the corner of his eye, he saw a group split off from the withheld forces and began to run towards the colossus. Their armor was not uniform, everyone had different, but high-quality gear. It confirmed that the ones who left the formation were the players from MMO Today. Unlike the other two, this big guild did not have a uniform, not interested in posturing like the other two.

Still, them defying Lind and joining them had a profound effect. The boss turned it's attention to the newcomers and allowed those caught in its previous attack to recover, also it gave those already fighting a much-needed morale boost.

They were able to bring down the second health bar of Fucus when finally Lind and the remaining players of the raiding party joined them. Natsu only noticed them when with a loud rumble several players charged through the small gaps their groups left to be able to maneuver. Their big, shiny armor tagged them as members of the Kaiser Dragons. Buzz, who ended up next to him, laughed quietly to himself.

"Well, finally they join. Better later than never, I suppose, but I would have preferred sooner." he commented.

Natsu turned to him with a big smile on his face.

"We better not let them have all the fun." he said as he also charged towards the boss, his spirits renewed. Ken and Basil were on his heels, their little group reunited at last, following his lead. Behind his back, he heard Buzz mutter something about reckless brats, before with a cry he and a few other solo players also went after the boss.

With the addition of fresh warriors, they quickly chipped away the armor of the colossus, erasing the third health bar and taking a good chunk out of the last. Of course, as they learned, the tables tended to turn easily as the boss's last health bar reached the red zone.

Fucus, the Vacant Colossus roared out in defiance before falling to its knees. creating an earthquake that almost caused several players to lose their balance. Before the cleaners could regroup, the colossus began to hit the floor repeatedly, causing various lava rivers to come to life. The raid party scrambled to get out of the way of lava that meant instant death, though thankfully they were able to avoid anyone taking a lava bath.

As the ground stopped trembling Natsu looked around the battlefield and couldn't help but worry at what he saw. Though they avoided casualties, they ended up in a petty bad situation crisscrossing rivers took over most of the room, creating small isles surrounded by lava, trapping players who ended up there. Worst of all, those small islands seemed to become smaller and smaller as the lava slowly began to took over. Aside from around ten players who ended up in close vicinity of the boss, everybody else was cut off from a direct approach. And from the width of most of those rivers, jumping was out of the question.

It's safe to say the situation was bad.

Natsu and the few others who were next to the colossus didn't move for a second, too stunned at what happened, when a familiar voice rang out.

"Concentrate on the boss. The lava should disappear the moment we take it out." yelled Kirito as he charged the boss, ushering the others to do the same.

Natsu and Wedge, who ended up next to him also charged the boss and began to attack it relentlessly. But it was too slow-going with only ten players. Meanwhile, the trapped players who had less and less ground under their feet by the minutes tried to hurry them.

"Hurry!"

"Please help!"

"You can do it, give it everything you got."

Natsu had to retreat to avoid a swipe from Fucus when he spotted numerous dents in the colossus' armor mainly on its legs, back, and chest. He widened his eyes as he remembered what Kirito told him about the weak point this boss possessed.

"I'm so gonna get scolded for this." he murmured to himself as an insane plan taken form in his head.

"What are you talking about?" asked Wedge who heard him, but a moment later he got his answer as an orange blur bolted from next to him towards the boss.

Natsu heard others call out to him, but he ignored all of them. He ignored the nerves in his stomach, every logical part of him that told him what he was doing was insane. Instead, he put his trust into his stats and more importantly his instincts. Using his speed he quickly began to scale up the colossus, sword in his left, not slowing down for a moment. it felt as if he knew where the small dents that he could use to propel himself up were, long before his eyes saw them.

It may have been a moment, while for Natsu it felt an eternity, but his feet found solid footing on the giant's left shoulder. The boss noticed him and his right hand was already closing on his position. 'It's now or never' thought Natsu as he charged towards the head, his sword lightning up with the orange color of sword skill."Disappear!" he didn't intend to, but his mouth opened and he gave his battle cry as he unleashed his strongest combo, Sharp nail directly at the boss head.

The sword skill connected and encountered no resistance. By the time the gigantic right hand that tried to swat him away came close, Natsu witnessed the last health bar of Fuvus deplete to zero and the Colossus stood still for a small moment. After that Fucus, the Vacant Colossus gave a mournful cry before bursting into polygons.

For a small moment, Natsu could easily see the aftermath from his high vantage point. The red lines of lava turned black, causing numerous players to cheer in relief. Then the moment was over and gravity took over him as there was no longer anything under a frightened yell, Natsu began to pick up speed as the ground came closer and closer.

He closed his eyes, preparing for a very painful landing. He was not sure if he could survive the fall after all the boss was not standing, but kneeling, so could have fallen from much higher. Still, if he did die, Natsu could not find it in himself the regret it. He felt he did the right thing and was ready for the consequences. He was read-

His thoughts came to a halt when a body collided with him from the side as he was falling. Whoever ran into him also curled their body into him to soften his fall, rolling along the ground after a not so gentle fall. When they finally stopped and he was released he simply rolled down from atop of whoever caught him, feeling nauseous. Something he did not ever felt in this virtual world before.

"Damn brat. You really want me to die of a heart attack?" a gruff voice sounded next to him. Finally having the strength lift his head, Natsu spied the sprawled form of Buzz next to him breathing heavily.

"Buzz?" he asked a bit dumbly, the thought that he survived still not quite reached him. As his head cleared he began to hear the cheers from various players and the worried cries of his friends as they ran towards the two of them.

"Kid, of all the idiotic things you could do..." mumbled the older man, not finding the strength to even sit up."Still, good job." he said lowly, chuckling to himself.

It was over, they won. They passed the 5th floor.

-0-

"Cheers!"

Everyone was in high spirits as they were celebrating their recent success in the largest inn on the newly opened 6th floor. There were most of the members of the victorious raid party, a large part of the Assault team, and many players from the town of beginnings who came to marvel at the new floor.

"Quite the achievement. We beat the 5th boss before the end of the year and we haven't lost anyone. That should help to keep the morale high." commented Buzz. He was sitting in the corner a little away from the center of the celebration. The Keepers of Seven Rings, Fuurinkazan, Kirito, and Asuna sat together, celebrating in their own way. The spear wielder glared at Natsu who sat not far from him. "Though that will be the last bonehead stunt you will do if I can have anything to say to this."

Natsu could do nothing but look down in guilt. He wasn't feeling guilty about what he did, but that he worried his friends. It was quite a contradiction. Most of the people congratulated him, but also told him off for being reckless.

Deciding it would be wiser to stay silent, Natsu decided to simply drink from the cup placed before him. Its contests looked suspiciously like beer, though it was well-known that you couldn't get drunk in this world. As he slowly drank from it and frowned a little at the taste. From the background, he could hear Agil admonishing Klein about giving alcohol to minors.

"Cut him slack." tried to divert the attention from Wedge, who was sitting lazily on his seat."After all, if it wasn't for the little boss, things would have been much worse."

"That's not the point!" shot him down Asuna, who looked even madder than Buzz and Agil combined. While she seemed a little unsure and shy at first, as soon as she relaxed in their group she became so much more talkative and outspoken. And bossier, in the whispered words of Wedge. Before Natsu could feel himself in the clear, the chestnut-haired girl looked at him pointedly."You have to think before you act! No matter how lucky you are, sooner or later your luck will run out. And then, you will be causing everyone pain with your thoughtless actions. Remember this, before you do something like that again." she scolded him.

She certainly looked like a mother scolding her child with her arms crossed like that. It also felt like that, though his mother never scolded him before, Natsu looked down, his face red and ashamed. He tried to look around the table for someone to help him and it seemed Kirito, who was seating next to Asuna took pity because he spoke up.

"Calm down Asuna. It was dangerous sure, but still a viable tactic. And Natsu probably learned from this and will think before trying something like this again." he tried to placate her. Apparently, it was the wrong thing to say because now Asuna rounded on him.

"Don' talk about this as if you didn't have a hand in this." she jabbed her finger at his chest accusingly, causing the black swordsman to nervously shield himself with his arms. "He wouldn't have thought of doing this if you didn't tell him first. What were you thinking? Telling a young boy about a dangerous stunt like that..." she rambled on, but at least she forgot about Natsu for the moment.

The others meanwhile enjoyed the occurring drama.

"100 cols on the two of them getting together in the next year." commented a laughing Dale as he watched the two of them.

"Nah, Kirito is dense as a rock. Double that for the year after that." said Klein who was finally able to get away from the judging gaze of Agil. Soon the guys began to bet amongst themselves when Kirito and Asuna would get together. Curiously no one bet on them not getting together.

Natsu was silently enjoying the festivities that didn't seem to stop anytime soon when suddenly a hand clasped on his back causing him to almost spill the drink he was holding. Looking to the side he was met with Ken's smiling face.

"How do you always end up in the most dangerous positions?" he teased him, through the young boy could see the worry he tried to hide.

"Please don't ever do something like that Natsu-doon. My heart wouldn't be able to take it." sighed Basil from his other side, causing Natsu to look at his friend sympathetically.

"Sorry guys. I try to avoid any more stunts like that." he promised solemnly.

"Well, as long you come back alive, it won't really matter." said Ken, causing Basil to sigh once again. He seemed to remember something, looking curiously at Natsu."You get the last attack bonus right?" he asked, the brown-haired boy nodding in confirmation."What was it?"

"Helmet of the Colossus, a stone helm with quite good defensive stats but nothing else." He turned to Basil, who listened in."Want it? It has an agility penalty, so it would be next to useless to me."

"I would be honored Natsu-dono." said Basil, Natsu internally groaning at the formality before trading the item.

They were silent for a few minutes before Natsu was caught off-guard as arms circled around his neck and a body draped over his back with very recognizable giggling.

"How's my favorite celebrity doing?" she breathed into his ear, causing the poor boy to imitate a tomato perfectly.

"Argo-sa-Argo-chan?" Natsu hastily collected as he could feel her brief glare at not addressing her the correct way. The others around him ignored them, save for Klein who seeing Argo hanging on him sent a subtle thumbs up. He squirmed a little, trying to get away, before giving up and focusing on her words."What do you mean by a celebrity?"

"Oh, you didn't hear?" Argo leaned back and one arm left his neck and for a moment Natsu dared to hope that he could get away. But before the thought could properly form in his mind a paper was out in front of him and Argo took back her previous place snuggling to him even more. His already red face probably caught on fire as something soft pressed into the back of his head."I did say I would run a newspaper about the boss battle and it was an instant hit."

Trying to ignore the person perched on his back, Natsu turned towards the paper. The title was simply Frontline in a little fancy script. There were a few paragraphs recounting information about past bosses and a few tidbits about the current state of the clearers. He blanched when he noticed a screenshot showing him on the colossus's shoulder, cape billowing behind him, Benevolent raised and already shining in orange light. The words next to it made him even more embarrassed.

"The Orange Blaze saves the day." Argo read out loud for him when he didn't speak. Hearing it out loud didn't help, it sounded as bad as it looked."See Na-kun, now you have a moniker just like Ki-bou's black swordsman. And a lot less menacing too. People described you like an orange force of nature that basically one-shot the boss." she giggled to herself before adding a bit more seriously."You saved a lot of players today, and with my paper, inspired quite a lot of them to have the courage to step forward. Quite an accomplishment."

"The name was my idea." chimed in Ken causing Natsu to groan, swearing to never let Ken have any saying how to name something.

Still, no matter how embarrassing it was, Natsu couldn't help but smile as he spent time with his friends. They celebrated well into the night before going to sleep, starting the next year with newfound enthusiasm. Not knowing later how significant this day would be.

-0-

Ayano Keiko, known as Silica in this world, was staring in amazement at the paper in her hands. Her hair was light brown and tied into two tails by red ribbons and her eyes were red. She wore a yellow robe with a dagger and pouch strapped to her waist at the back.

She was sitting in a big church in the town of beginnings amongst many young children. They were all the young kids who somehow ended up trapped in this death game and were taken into the care of a young woman, Sasha. They didn't have the will to fight or even step out of this city, trying to simply wait out this nightmare's end.

She was here for almost two months and day after day she felt the hope that she could ever escape slowly die. Yet, she was seeing a boy her age, defeating a boss and bringing them closer to being able to go home.

'Maybe even I' she thought as she watched almost mesmerized as her newest hero stood defiantly, sword raised in the picture.'Maybe even I can find the courage to move forward.'

Not even a week later Silica was already fighting against the first monster she faced since the death game was announced, after a tearful goodbye from Miss Sasha, leaving behind the town of beginnings for good.

-0-

But not every change was welcome. Far away from the celebrating cleaners, sinister plans formed and gave birth to something that would plague this world for a long time.

On the 5th floor in a dark cave hidden away from prying eyes a meeting took place. Ten players stood around, uneasily glancing at each other. There were men and a few women of various ages, at first glance nothing common between them save for the orange cursor above their heads. But they were all invited by some mysterious benefactor who offered them 'true freedom'.

"Is that guy gonna show up?" asked a thin man with an uneven tangle of long hair, thin cheeks covered by a stubby beard, as he played around with his dagger, looking calculatingly at a few people. "I'm getting bored here. I know," he leaned forward with a sadistic smile on his face." who wants to play a little game?"

Before anything could happen he was interrupted by PoH stepping into view from the darkness, covered by a dark, hooded poncho. No one noticed his eyes shining with faint violet light.

"There would be more than enough time for enjoying ourselves, Mr, Black. Now, if I could have your attention." said PoH smoothly, causing every player to focus on him."My name is PoH and I gathered you here because you are men and women free of shackles that the outside world tries to force on us. You are those few who knew the true nature of this place and not fear to enjoy it to the fullest." he spread his arms in a theatrical gesture, slightly bowing befoe his audience."I welcome you, to Laughing Coffin."


	7. Level 7 A Brief Respite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of filler, away from risking ther life, Natsu and his group has a little fun

**Level 7 a brief respite**

"You call that a swing? Don't make me laugh." retorted Buzz as he parried the sword strike aimed at him with frightening ease. With a simple push, he sent his attacker stumbling back until with a quick movement of his spear he tripped them."Come on! I know you can do it better than this. Or little old me too much for you?" he goaded them with a cocky smirk.

Natsu sat before him, panting. He wasn't wearing his armor, only simple clothes but he was clutching his sword in his hand and glaring up at the older man

"Shut up! " he panted. If for nothing else, training sessions with Buzz served him in opening up and become less unsure about giving voice to his opinions. He also learned quite a few curse words from Buzz.

It was the middle of February now and a lot happened since the new year started. The Assault team kept up an almost ridiculous pace following the 5th floor, placing the current Frontline on the 17th floor. Thanks to their rapid progress more and more people joined them along with the constantly expanding merchant class supporting them.

Of course, there were downsides to that. Most of the 'late arrivals' joined the three major guilds, causing the forming hierarchy among the guilds to cement. Though their guild had a larger voice than their size would suggest, thanks to Natsu's fame as the Orange Blaze and their almost constant presence in boss battles. Also, their increased numbers meant that the fight for farming spots became even more vicious. It wasn't really surprising to have the Al's or the Dragons hogging a whole dungeon for themselves, citing the need to train in the new recruits.

That was not the only change. Starting from the 6th floor a new type of enemies started to appear, the humanoid types. Skeletons, lizards, and other beastmen, all with various weapons and more and more commonly, sword skills. They, unfortunately, lost a few unfortunate players who couldn't adapt well enough to the change in fighting styles.

That was the main reason Natsu started to have duels frequently with Buzz and also Ken, Basil, and Wedge when they could find the time. Ever since he first played, Natsu was able to predict the enemy's movements, countering them even before the system initiated an attack. His instincts and ease in a fight were what made him one of the well-known cleaners, that and his reckless actions. With humanoid enemies, he could still read them, but things became trickier. Their moves were more complicated, they were also faster and though he knew how to counter them, his body was a second slower in following his commands.

Not to mention their humanoid appearance and humanlike reactions made it harder for him to deliver the killing strike. Slowly, but surely he was able to get where he could safely deal with these new monsters without needing any help. Still, they kept up the sparring sessions to keep their skills sharp and try out new combos in a safe environment. Not to mention Buzz's constant criticism helped get rid of any bad habits they picked up.

"That's it for today. Come on, let's go home, I'm starving." commented Buzz, his spear resting on his shoulders, seeing how tired Natsu was. It was no surprise they were out here in the fields fighting monsters and each other for at least five hours.

As they began to walk in the direction of this floor's, the 13th's main town they encountered another pair. Ken and Wedge looking just as worn out as Natsu felt, tiredly raising their hands in greeting.

"How did things go?" asked Natsu curiously when they reached them.

"It went well." answered Ken with a confident smile, causing Wedge to snort in amusement.

"Well is not the word I would use. Kid's a natural with that katana. Reckon, he could easily stand up to the black swordsman or our very own Orange Blaze." he joked, throwing an arm around both Ken and Natsu.

The 9th and 10th floors theme was centered around feudal Japan and it was reflected on their enemies. Most of their enemies wielded katanas, wakizashis, naginatas, and nodachis, giving credence to what Kirito said back on the 1st floor, about fighting enemies using the same skills that Illfang used.

It wasn't until the 14th floor that they learned that completing a difficult and long quest, allowed a player to unlock the katana skill tree and allow wielding katanas. There was an uproar from a few idiots, asking why didn't the beta testers told them about this, but it was quickly shot down since they also didn't know it beforehand. After all, the betas information stopped after the 11th floor, since in the two-month-long beta period, they only beat the 10th boss and barely scouted out the 11th. And only then it was a select few of the betas, like Buzz, Kirito, or Argo who was able to survey the 11th floor properly, before the real game.

As soon as they learned about this quest, Ken begged them to do it, though there was not much convincing needed with Natsu and Basil. Buzz and Agil agreed after a little convincing with Biggs joining the trio to keep them safe. Even Lisbeth accompanied them, saying that she needed to level herself to be able to work her blacksmith skills further, and she would rather go with friends than total strangers. In the end, with five of them, it taken four days to clear the quest, gathering a lot of exp on the side because of so many hunting missions, before in the end, Ken needed to face a high level named monster, the elder lizard samurai alone, to earn the skill.

Klein pouted for a while every time they crossed paths because they were able to beat the leader of fuurinkazan, who also went after the katana skills, by two days even though he roped Kirito into helping him. He probably would have finished faster if he didn't spend so long trying to convince the black swordsman to help.

"Let's go home." offered Ken with a smile, cutting off Natsu's thoughts. With a nod, the boy agreed and they began to walk into the town.

-0-

„Home sweet home." commented Buzz with a small smile as they arrived through the teleport gate.

After a while, they had enough of staying in inns on the current top floor and since their guild was already founded, they chose a guild building as their next objective. Surprisingly, the hardest part proved not to be the gathering of enough money, especially with the seven of them able to work in small groups and Argo's intel, but to agree what sort of base they would want. They debated for almost a whole day, from Wedge's idea of a feudal Japanese building on the 10th floor to Buzz's idea of a building styled after a military barrack they found on the 8th, or even Ken's absurd idea to rent a cave on the 5th floor. It did not help matters when they turned to Natsu to make a decision, who could only answer he would want a place where all of them could be happy and safe.

In the end, it took them exploring the at the time newly opened 12th floor to find the perfect building. The whole floor's theme was the Italian Renaissance, giving the whole floor a beautiful architecture. They found a small mansion, not so large that it would cost a fortune but enough to house all of them and have a few open rooms in case their group grew larger. It was modest, but still had a regal feeling to it. It also had a small ground to it with a beautiful garden, much to the joy of Biggs who began to tend to them in his free time.

The mansion of the Keepers of the Seven Rings or KSR for short, since Klein always complained to them that it was a mouthful, was located a little distance from the main city of the floor, Temere. It was a beautiful city, showing off the best of the Renaissance period, at least according to Buzz, who decided to lecture them about it, seeing that the 3 younger kids knew nothing about it. It was also easy to get lost in, evidenced by Natsu, who got lost 2 different times when he went to do a few errands in the city. Both times they needed to employ the services of the Rat to find him, much to Argo's amusement.

As they walked through the city many people greeted them or waved at them excitedly. After the new year and the long list of victories that quickly followed gave a lot of people hope, more and more people began to leave the city of beginning and try to discover the joys this world held. Most of them were far from being able to join the Assault team and many of them didn't even want to go near the frontlines, still, the appearance of 'mid-level' players caused even those lower-level floors that became abandoned after the frontline moved on, to once again became populated.

It was especially true for those floors where some of the larger or well-known guilds made their base. Like the 15th where the Kaiser Dragons ruled, the 7th where the Aincrad Liberation Force made their presence known, or surprisingly the 12th where their own guild chose to settle down. The 1st floor still housed a large part of the player base, partially because MMO Today even to this day was based on there.

For Natsu it was still surreal that so many people knew him, not to mention when he would meet players telling him he was their inspiration to be finally brave the dangers of this world. It placed a very heavy feeling on his shoulders. Sure, he was the guild's leader, at least on paper, but even when they turned to him to make a decision, in the end, they were still a team, where everyone's thoughts counted. But he being solely responsible to inspire people and keep that hope alive, it was very scary. Even so, it also gave him one other reason why not to give up.

"Hey Natsu, we arrived." he felt Wedge nudge his shoulder, an amused smile on his face. Looking up the brown-haired boy blushed a little, seeing them standing in front of the door to the mansion. Seems like he was so lost in thought, he didn't even notice them leaving town and walking up to the guild building.

"Welcome back, guys." Briggs greeted them with a soft voice as he appeared from behind the building. With them finally acquiring a base, they found themselves in a stable position that let them focus on other things than fighting and exploring dungeons. For example, Agil began to expend more and more time on leveling his merchant skills, leaving the frontline with a rising frequency. Basil took up the cooking skill, saying he always cooked for himself in the real world, and wanted to do something that reminded him of it. Contrary to his confidence, his first few experiments turned out to be terrible. Natsu didn't even know he could get a stomach ache in the virtual world.

Biggs also took up a hobby of his own, the gardening skill. It was a new skill that was discovered on the 15th floor, a plant-themed floor. Most of the players thought it was a completely useless skill, but for Biggs, it was the perfect one. Wedge told them, that his brother was always timid, despite his size and strength, and felt most home around plants. Natsu personally liked it, Biggs's little garden that began to slowly spread to most of the ground around their mansion made their home that much homier.

"Hi, Biggs. How are the flowers?" he asked kindly, earning a big smile from Biggs.

"They are lovely as always." he said, proud for his garden."Training went well?"

"Could have gone worse." said Buzz with a small smirk as they walked to the front door, ignoring Natsu's indignant pout. Getting a compliment from him was harden than making Basil stop calling him Natsu-dono.

The five of them walked into the large hall, chatting with each other. Natsu couldn't help but be a bit awed, whenever they stepped into their mansion. The inside had a royal feeling to it, with a deep mahogany floor and overall 15th century decorations. Well, at least according to Basil, who seemed to be an expert on Italian mansions, he, on the other hand, all he could offer that it looked nice.

"Welcome back. Seems you guys managed to come back for lunch." Agil greeted them as he stepped into the foyer. Before he noticed them he was looking intently at something on his menu, but immediately dismissed it when they reached him.

"Of course. I'm famished." said Wedge with a big grin, patting his stomach fondly.

"Good idea then that Basil made more than enough for everyone." commented Agil as they walked in the direction of the dining room.

"How are things going with the merchant players?" asked curiously Natsu, since he knew the axe user was keeping his eye on the budding merchant community. On the way there, all of them stopped to unequip their armor in favor of casual wear.

"Same old, same old. Slowly but we are working out little problems, one at a time." explained Agil."Thankfully the past few months helped most of the people stabilize and find their place here in Aincrad. Looks like we will have a stable support behind us in no time." he said with a big smile, proud of the help he was able to offer to the players who ventured out of the starting city and tried to make something of themselves.

"Guess Lis will have a lot of competition before long." said Wedge, sending a teasing smile at Natsu who remained oblivious to it.

"Nah, I reckon we will remain Lis's faithful customers, right Natsu?" asked Ken, smiling widely as he realized where the older teen was going with this.

"Of course, Lis is the best." declared Natsu, not noticing the snickering coming from Wedge and Ken.

"Oh?" asked Buzz with a smirk, catching the snickering boys game."Don't let Argo hear you say that, she gets easily jealous.

"C-Cut that out." cried out Natsu with his cheeks red. Ever since the 5th floor's battle the others, save for Basil and Biggs took every opportunity to tease him about Argo and Lis. Argo was no better because she played along and even made things worse whenever she was in hearing distance.

The others laughed merrily at him, while they finally reached the dining room. Stepping in, they found Basil in the middle of setting up lunch.

"Natsu-dono, everyone! Welcome back." he greeted with a smile, looking like some kind of housewife while he wore a blue frilly apron that Natsu really didn't want to know how or why he acquired.

After they purchased the mansion, Basil showed a surprising interest in decorating the best way he could. When they weren't out the field exploring or training, he remained back here, to fuss over the house. For some reason, it was really important to him that the headquarters of the Keepers of the Seven Rings looked the best it could be.

While it was nice seeing Basil relaxing in his own way, Natsu ended up with the short end of the stick when in the first week of Basil learning to cook he had to try out every one of his creations. When he wanted help to taste what he cooked with the system's assistance before Natsu could realize it, suddenly everyone else found something to busy themselves. In the end, Basil looked at him with such puppy eyes that he couldn't help but agree. To this day, even when Basil became more than an average cook, he couldn't help but sometimes shiver at the sight of his cooking, remembering the first few abominations.

"Ittadakimasu!" called out each of them before digging in, some kind of stew that tasted a lot like beef to him. They ate in silence, nobody feeling like talking.

"Now that hit the spot." said Buzz with a pleased smile as he leaned back on his chair. Basil went to put away the dishes, while everyone else stayed in their seat to laze around a little.

Natsu closed his eyes, relaxing. It felt nice, just to stay here for a little while, to not worry about the next boss fight or about how much he needs to farm to level up. Nowadays most of the days were spent out on the field and even back home, he found he was unable to truly get his head out of that mindset.

"Why the long face, little boss?" asked Wedge when he noticed him frown.

Natsu hesitated a little before coming clean.

"It's just...We were never really able to relax. I mean Basil and Biggs have their hobbies, but most of us? Even when we 'relax' it still connected somehow with the frontline. It seriously bugs me that all we do is fight, fight and fight." he said gloomily. He didn't notice Agil and Buzz share a look silently but definitely heard when Buzz began to chuckle himself.

"What's so funny?" wondered Ken a little clueless.

"We were thinking just the same thing with Buzz. That's why we thought of a little activity to wind down for a while" explained Agil with a smile. That gathered the others' attention, even Basil's who only now stepped back."For the afternoon, there will be no training and absolutely no mention of the Assault Team. We are going swimming."

"Swimming? Where?" came from Ken who smiled in anticipation.

"You can swim in SAO? asked Wedge a little skeptical.

Natsu didn't say anything but bit his lip in worry. He didn't have anything against swimming except one thing: he couldn't swim for the life of him.

"We found a small lake in a secluded corner of the 14th floor. It's designated as a safe zone so there are no monsters. It's quite shallow so it's perfect for a nice relaxing afternoon." said Buzz with a smile before said smile turned just a touch wicked."And the best? We found it first and I talked with Argo, this information won't be available for a few days, so it will be completely ours for that time."

"Sound good. Let's go!" cheered Ken, who stood up ready to go. The others also cheered, ready for a nice, worry-free afternoon.

-0-

"Wow." Natsu couldn't help but be awed as they stepped out of the trees and saw the lake for the first time. He looked over the glistening water, the lake surrounded by the forest gave such a peaceful vibe that his tense shoulders instantly relaxed. The sounds of the forest and the monsters within quieted down to nothing as they stepped into the safe zone.

"Wow is right." commented Ken as he stepped next to him, a similar grin on his face."It's hard to believe there are so peaceful places in here after the pitfalls of the 8th floor." he joked, causing Basil to tremble a little as he remembered. Poor guy, for some reason he was always caught in traps like that. Be it the moles on the 5th dragging him down, falling to the pitfalls of the 8th floor, or being caught by a Venus flytrap the size of a house on the 15th floor.

"Let it go, Basil. Nothing will hurt you here." Natsu tried to calm down the clearly traumatized boy, with moderate success.

They quickly unequipped their weapons and gear, the path here was only relatively safe for them because of their high level, and changed into the swimming trunks Agil had the foresight to procure when the idea was first conceived. Natsu got an orange one, a none too subtle reminder to his nickname, while Ken had a light blue, Basil a dark blue, Buzz a simple black, Agil a green one, and Wedge and Biggs both had red trunks.

"Let's get the party started!" cried Wedge, with fist-pumping into the air, he was clearly the most enthusiastic about this.

"Count me out. I'm gonna lie down and anyone wakes me up, won't live to see tomorrow." said Buzz before walking away and finding a nice shaded area where he could rest.

"That's his way of saying to have fun and relax a little." translated Agil, seeing the worried look Natsu sent towards the spear user." Go on, have fun. I will wait for the others to arrive than join you."

"Others?" he looked up curiously, wondering who else will come.

"Geronimo!" Wedge cut both of them off as he ran past them yelling loudly, Biggs at his heels. As soon as they reached the edge of the water, the brothers dived into the water, resulting in an impressive splash, much to Buzz's annoyance.

"Looks like fun." commented Ken as he also went into the water, followed by Basil, though they refrained in jumping in.

After a few seconds, Wedge and Biggs resurfaced, both of them sending large, joy-filled grins.

"Man, this is almost better than the real thing. The water is just the right temperature. Come on slowpokes, I doubt we can even drown here." said Wedge before he lowered below the water to prove a point.

Natsu was about to tentatively approach the water when I familiar voice caught his attention.

"Did you guys have to start without us? That's so not fair." said Klein as he stepped out of the trees, the rest of his guild following behind him. The redhead sent Natsu a friendly wave when he noticed the young boy waving at them happily."Hey if it isn't our little celebrity." he teased him, earning a pout from the famous Orange Blaze.

"Cut it out, Klein." said back Natsu, though he didn't really mind, he got used to it. He turned to look at Agil curiously."Were you talking about Klein and Fuurinkazaan?"

The older man nodded before he greeted their friends.

"Yes, thought the more and merrier. And since we are so used to working with each other I thought why not? Is that a problem?"

"No, it's brilliant." answered Natsu with a brilliant smile, yelping when Klein gave him a one-armed hug which was a little awkward due to height difference.

"Of course it is brilliant. I would be very sad otherwise." He tousled the young boy's head, ignoring the grumbling coming from said boy, and released him, turning to Agil with a slightly serious expression. "I asked Kirito to join, but he refused. Said he would grind instead. Sometimes I think that fighting for his life counts as relaxing to that guy." he joked in the end, causing Agil to shook his head, a faint smile on his face.

"Sound like Kirito, all right."

Klein and his party walked a little ways away to change, while the others were already playing in the water. Natsu turned to Agil about to ask him if any others were coming when a body collided with him, a familiar weight settling on him as an arm circled around his neck and he felt the back of his head pushed into a very feminine body.

"I get to see my Na-kun shirtless and for free. Argo likes this." a voice purred in his ear, causing him to blush and start squirming. Argo always loved to tease him, but it was getting old and a little uncomfortable. He stepped out of her arms, shoulders squared, and turned around, ready to once in his life be a man and tell her what he was thinking.

"Cut it out Argo, it's-" whatever resolve he had died as he noticed that the infamous rat wasn't wearing her signature cloak. Instead, she stood beside him, posing in a modest yellow two-piece swimsuit, a sly smile on his feat. Natsu certainly felt his face was melting as he gaped at her before he realized what he was seeing and quickly covered his eyes. "W-w-what are you wearing?" he stuttered out. Argo giggled in response.

"It's a swimsuit, what else? Do you like it, Na-kun?" she asked, causing him to stammer helplessly. In the background, he heard Klein whistle before grunting as if he was hit. He also tried to say something but his voice was muffled and soon he was dragged away by his friends.

"Leave him alone, Argo!" Asuna came into the rescue, much to Natsu's relief. "Really, your need to always tease him whenever you see him is beyond me." she said as she and Lis stepped into view. They wore one-piece swimsuits, white and pink respectively, but both of them looked a little uncomfortable, something he could easily relate to. Also, since they didn't constantly tease him like Argo tended to, it was easier to not get flustered around them.

After the battle on the 5th floor, Asuna sort of took him as her unofficial little brother. She was always scolding him whenever she heard he did anything remotely dangerous or reckless, telling him he should better take care of himself. Still, it felt nice that she was worried about him. That he had someone he could turn to with almost anything, she always took the time to talk or at least message him if there was anything wrong. She was also his shield if Argo's and the others' teasing became too much. He never had an older sibling and before the game, he never even had friends, used to stay on his own. Despite all the pain Sword Art Online caused, he was thankful to meet these wonderful people.

"Oh, should I focus on Ki-bou instead?" the Rat asked with a cheeky grin, causing Asuna to splutter in embarrassment before she began arguing with Argo.

Lisbeth stepped away from the two of them, next to Natsu, looking a lot more comfortable now that most of the attention was on the two girls.

"It's nice that you guys could come." the young boy sent her a wide smile, after finally calming down and she gave one in return."I don't think there were so many of us in one place without the threat of a boss since the party following the 5th-floor battle."

"Yeah, it helps to relax with friends. Have to appreciate the little things." said Lis, before going to Asuna and gently dragging her away to the water."Come on, let's enjoy the water."

"The last one in has to pay for dinner for a whole week." shouted Klein as he raced past Natsu, his friends in hot pursuit, yelling to him indignantly. They jumped into the water with a large splash, waking the napping Buzz in the process, making him curse at them.

"Language! There are kids present." told him Agil, though he was smirking as he walked to the edge of the lake as well. He looked back at Natsu who kept his distance from the water."What's wrong?"

Natsu hesitated a little, looking down, finding a little rock before him very interesting. He mumbled softly, prompting Agil to raise an eyebrow.

"I couldn't hear you."

"I can't swim." Natsu admitted not meeting the older man's eyes. Before any of them could continue, Argo suddenly appeared next to him, grabbed his wrist, and began to drag him to the water, a little ways away from the others. "W-What are you doing?" he spluttered out as he eyed the approaching body of water with apprehension.

"I'm teaching you how to swim." she said simply, not turning back towards him, but steadily leading him forward.

"But why?" he couldn't help but ask. Argo stopped, facing him with a gentle smile on her, for once not teasing him. Natsu found himself thinking that she had a nice smile.

"Because it's no fun if not everyone has fun. And we need every little moment of happiness to be able to move forward." her smile turned a little mischievous, reminding him that he was indeed talking to Argo."Not to mention, there is bound to be a floor where most or all of the floor is covered by water. By learning to swim now, you won't have to embarrass yourself by trying to learn then. Or I could always mysteriously find a few embarrassing pictures..." she left the sentence unfinished, letting his mind fill in the blanks. Shivering slightly, Natsu was not sure that the devil horns he saw on her head were his imagination or the real thing.

"Okay." There was no real choice for him, except to agree.

-0-

"See, you're learning." cheered Argo, while Natsu struggled to swim properly.

The others were having fun and were laughing loudly just a few meters from them, but far enough so he could practice without a problem. At some point, Ken and Basil wondered over to help, but after the disaster that was Ken trying to teach Natsu to swim, Argo sent them away, leaving only two of them. Strangely enough, she teased him relatively little, at least compared to her usual self, and slowly but surely he was learning.

He got most of the stuff already, but he had a problem with putting it into practice. It was harder to move his body at once, his legs and arms separately than it looked like. Still, he tried and tried and Argo never looked like she was impatient by his slow progress.

"This is tiring." admitted Natsu as he stopped to take a breather, letting the water uphold his body. He was honestly thankful that he wasn't drowning anymore. The shallow water only reached to his chest-level, yet he almost drowned twice. Talk about embarrassing.

"You got the moves and you are improving." she swam next to him, her own moves looked much more different than the bizarre movements he produced."You are not supposed to be a pro at this after seeing it once. Got to practice and it will be only better with time." she chuckled, following his example and let the water carry her body. Whether it was intentional or not, she drifted close to Natsu."I mean, you can't expect to have the same natural grace that you have at fighting just yet. It would be cheating if you just picked up things effortlessly."

Natsu only frowned as a certain thought resurfaced, one he thought many times in the past months. And no matter how much he tried he couldn't ignore it.

"But I'm not like that." he whispered, not even meaning to utter the words that plagued him.

"What do you mean?"

"Fighting with a sword just comes as something natural to me...but it shouldn't. I am not graceful or anything like that. Outside I'm clumsy, as far from athletic as you can get. If I'm on a team on P.E. that team is doomed to lose. I'm unlucky and wimpy, not at all reliable. I always get Fs and Ds, I can't do anything right. It has gotten so bad that I was named Dame. Everyone calls me that. My teachers, my classmates, almost the whole town. Even my mother started to call me that." he tried to blink away the tears that gathered. It was so easy to forget about that part of him here. He was Natsu, the appointed leader of Keepers of Seven Rings, he was the Orange Blaze. He had so many friends, who supported him and helped him all the way. He didn't feel lonely, he felt accepted by his new family. But in the end, it didn't change a thing about him. "In the end, I am still Dame-Ts-" his words were cut off when out of nowhere someone smacked his head quite harshly, sending him below the water.

Spluttering in surprise he resurfaced, looking around only to meet the unamused eyes of Argo. The girl who he hardly has ever seen without a mischievous smile was glaring at him, arms crossed in front of her chest. From the corner of his eyes, he saw his hp gauge and shivered as he noticed he lost around 5 hp. Girls are scary.

"I don't want to hear you talking about you like that, ever again. You are not Dame." she jabbed her finger to his chest with each word, making him back down. He felt completely flat-footed by her reactions. No one ever reacted to him putting himself down. Only joined in."Do you think someone called Dame, could have scaled the colossus without falling down and save the lives of a lot of players? she asked him, looking even angrier.

"You never gonna let me live it down, are you?" he asked trying to break the sudden tension because a furious Argo scared him more than any boss he faced until now. At least against a boss, he had 47 other people around to help.

"You are someone amazing. When most people didn't even dare to take a step out of the safe zones, you were already fighting in the fields with Buzz and Agil. When others would cower in fear, you were already stepping forward, ready to meet any challenge that came your way. How many people have you helped? People follow you, Natsu. Ken, Basil, Wedge, Biggs, even Buzz, and Agil. Just because we are in here, the 'us' here are not any less than 'us' out here. You are not Dame, Natsu. You are amazing." she said, her angry expression slowly replaced by a soft smile.

Natus could only gape at her, no words coming from his mouth. He honestly felt touched by her words. Before the game started, even his mother began to give up on him. Oh, she loved him all the same, he knew it very well but didn't have high hopes that he would accomplish much. Nobody ever really said anything like that to him. There was nobody to support him for most of his life, all everyone talked about was how hopeless he was.

He felt a lot more alive, a lot more right here in this game than in the outside world, because he had friends who believed him. And it was hard for him to admit that to himself, but Argo's heartfelt words were able to convince him. He was more than Dame-Tsuna. He was Natsu, the swordsman.

"Thank you." he whispered, at last, trying to pour how thankful he was into his words.

Argo just continued to smile at him, before once again grabbing his wrist and dragging him towards the others.

"Come on, let's have some fun." she cheered, her smile once again mischievous. And no matter how much he was teased, Natsu could never tear off the huge smile from his face for the whole day.


	8. Level 8 Mystery in the labyrinth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A brief timeskip and its time for the sart of the next arc. Natsu and company faces off against an old foe and found themselves in a troublesome situation

**Level 8 The mystery in the labyrinth**

The very earth trembled beneath his feet violently, as Natsu pushed his body forward, fear gripping his heart. He could hear loud cries, pleas for help and mercy from the end of the long hall he was running to. It was tearing him apart, the raw terror in those voices. He wasn't sure he was ready to face anything that could generate that kind of fear.

The faithful presence of Ken and Basil at his side helped a little, the others only a step behind them. He spotted the black coat of Kirito a few meters in front of him, his blade already drawn.

"What in the nine hells did that idiot think he was doing?" cursed Buzz's voice from behind him, but the sound was mostly lost in the sound of his heartbeats in his ear.

"We are almost there." panted Basil, exhaustion clear in his voice.

Before long they reached the boss room and Natsu's heart fell as he looked around. Several players were lying on the ground, some in the middle of standing up while some laid there unmoving, caught in the effect of paralysis. But the truth was there were too few of them. They know about the 40 person team Kibaou sent, yet no matter how he looked, he could barely spot fifteen people left. It was a heartbreaking sight.

"Lookout." cried out Kirito in alarm. Looking up Natsu met with an enormous black arm descending straight at him.

He tried to move, willed his legs to move with all his heart, but he was stuck in place. All he could do was watch as the end came closer and closer, his friends' cries echoing around him. He didn't want to die!

-0-

"No!" cried out Natsu, as he jumped out of his bed, terrified, part of him still in the grasp of the nightmare. He panted on the floor, shivering as he slowly recognized his room.

Despite his protest, the others gave him a large room with a big double-sized bed, saying if he was the guild leader he should have the room to show for it. Aside from the large bed with orange covers the room was sparse, with a pretty standard looking desk and a few decorations such as a dresser without any practical function, an empty shelf, or two. It was not much, but it was his, his little retreat in this virtual world.

Finally calming down, he was able to stand up, looking around the darkroom, with only the faint light of the moon providing some source of light. The clock at the edge of his vision read 4 am and Natsu couldn't help but let out a weary sigh. He knew himself well enough to know he wouldn't go back to sleep, no matter how tired he felt.

He left his room and began the trek down to the kitchen. Thankfully the rooms once closed were soundproofed, so he didn't have to worry about waking up the others. Still, he couldn't help but shiver as he walked through the dark, silent corridors.

He was never any good with anything horror related. He was so frightened when they encountered skeleton themed mobs on the 23rd floor for the first time, that he clung to Buzz like a koala bear and didn't let him go until they arrived back at the mansion, much to the older man's annoyance. The nightmare he just was woken up from also didn't help.

Stepping into the kitchen, after a quick manipulation of his menu he ignited a soft, small light, dismissing the darkness. Natsu approached the fridge, opening up its inventory and scrolling down to the item he was looking for: warm milk.

One of the most convenient things about the system that most items stored in an inventory remained in stasis, its status not changing with a few exceptions. Thanks to that, he didn't need to bother having to warm his milk, instead, he could simply bring up the pre-heated one that he could enjoy to his heart's content.

Natsu just finished his glass of milk, when a voice sounded just behind him.

"Can't sleep, kid?"

Letting out a frightened yelp, he spun around thrusting forward the empty glass as if he could use it as a weapon. As his heart slowly calmed down he made it out through the dim light the amused form of Buzz, the older man apparently fighting to hold back his amusement.

"Please don't do that. You know I scare easily." Natsu pleaded as he tiredly leaned on the table.

Buzz simply ignored him as he stepped into the kitchen properly and took a seat, looking comfortable and well-rested, unlike him.

"You are up early again." he commented airily, even though he stared at the young boy sharply. Natsu did not meet his eyes and instead looked down at his glass, trying not to look guilty."Nightmare?" Buzz asked knowingly, a note of compassion in his voice.

He only nodded in response, and the older man just sat there and waited for him to talk. Sadly, this was not the first time they did this.

"It was the 25th floor." he said in the end, his whole body trembled from the simple memory of what happened.

With a sigh Buzz stood up and walked next to him, placing his large hand in his shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"You know we couldn't have done anything to change the outcome. It was Kibaou's fault, not yours. You shouldn't blame yourself." he told him, meeting his eyes with a firm stare.

"I know that intellectually, but still," he looked out the window where the very first rays of 'sunshine' began to appear. No matter how artificial it was, it was still a beautiful sight." never before was it so apparent how dangerous this game was. Up until now, we heard about some people dying, even saw someone die before me, but never on this scale. We did everything to not lose anyone in boss battles, yet this happened. I don't know Buzz, it's hard to get past something like that."

The older man stayed silent for a while, also watching the sunrise as he tried to get his thoughts organized.

"It's not gonna be easy, I can't lie about that. We're gonna lose people, that's a certainty, maybe even a friend. But we will go forward, and we will get out in the end." Natsu gave him a tentative smile, so he continued. "Why don't we make a pact, just between the two of us. If either of us goes out, but the other doesn't, the one who survived visits the other's family to finish the journey, what do you say?" Buzz looked away once again, his gaze looking far further than the edge of the floor."For me, it would be my daughter, Keiko. She's a little, sweet thing, doubt that she remembers much of me, but to me, she is the world."

Natsu stayed silent, joining Buzz in his silent vigil. The sun was almost completely out of the horizon when he spoke up, his voice soft but with a note of determination hidden within it.

"Nana. My mother. She raised me while dad was abroad working most of my life. She's really sweet and it would mean so much to her, that I had such good friends here." his voice cracked a bit towards the end, but he continued, not crying, no matter how easy it would have been. He wanted to find the strength to go forward, not to remain behind.

"Then we have a deal." said Buzz, patting his head fondly, much to his annoyance."You're gonna be alright?"

"Yes." he answered softly, not taking his eyes off the view before him.

"Good."

-0-

The teleport gate on the 27th floor activated with a brilliant light, letting Natsu, Basil, Biggs, and Wedge materialize and step away. This city had a simple medieval theme, while the floor itself consisted of smaller forests and hilly terrains.

Not missing a beat, they started to purposely walk towards the edge of the city. Despite this floor being the current frontline, the usual horde of people, both cleaners, mid-players, and the constant chatter was notably absent. It was no surprise, since the fight against the 25th boss, the whole atmosphere was a lot grimmer than it used to be.

Not taking the time to organize a meeting of the cleaner guilds, Kibaou ventured out alone with most of the ALS to fight the boss. As soon as they were notified about it, Kirito, Natsu's group along with Klein and Fuurinkazaan, raced towards the boss room to help out, all the while cursing Kibaou for his recklessness. They were too late, however.

Both Argo and Buzz advised them repeatedly to remain cautious, who knew what surprises Kayaba hid in the game. The 25th boss was leagues stronger than the 24th that they beat without any difficulty and as they later learned, stronger than even the 26th that came after. Kibaou and his men had little chance, especially they did not even have a concrete plan against the boss. It took 25 floors for someone on the frontline to die, and it was a massacre.

By the time the reinforcements arrived, the boss killed more than half of the ALS's men and only lost a quarter of its overall HP. The following battle was long and brutal. They weren't able to adequately prepare for facing the boss and were taken off-guard quite a few times, with only luck and the other intervention saving many of them. It was a nightmare that still haunted Natsu.

Among the frontline players after that grueling victory, everything changed. Gone was the joking, hopeful atmosphere that hung around them before. Up until that point they didn't lose anybody, slowly but surely they were getting closer to their end goal, but that 'victory' was a slap on the face. It reminded them that no matter their equipment or their high levels, they still only got one life in this death game. It caused many of them to outright quit and simply go to the lower levels where they would be safe.

Their internal structure also went over large changes. Kibaou pulled out what was left of the ALS, leaving the frontlines officially. At the same time MMO Today also pulled out, choosing to focus on supporting lower-level players instead, their frontliners going to other guilds. Kaiser Dragons tried to seize the chance to be the undisposed leading guild, merging with two smaller but still very strong guilds, creating a new guild called Holy Dragon Alliance, trying to gain their place as the strongest guild with quantity instead of quality.

It would have worked if not for the arrival of a brand new guild, the Knights of the Blood Oath. They were led by a completely unknown player, a shield user by the name of Heathcliff, who appeared at the 26th boss meeting as if he was meant to be there all along. Later at the boss battle, he proved himself, almost singlehandedly holding back the boss so the cleaners could organize themselves properly. A lot of people who left MMO Today, and a lot of smaller guilds and solo players soon joined, swayed by the silent charisma of Heathcliff. Personally, Natsu always felt something off with the man, so he tried not to interact much with him, even if he needed to as officially he was their guild leader. On the plus side, the KOB's subcommander was Asuna, who he much preferred to work with. Incidentally, Heathcliff seemed to leave most things to her, so it worked out well.

It was an even bigger surprise that for some reason both their guild and Klein's became much more important, second only to the two great guilds. Both their guilds gained new members, the keepers of seven rings going from a humble seven people, into guild consisting of a staggering (at least to him) eighteen members. Likewise, Fuurinkazaan had twice as many members as before, mostly those who broke away from ALS and MMO Today.

At least the mansion was being used to it's fullest, though Natsu missed the family-like atmosphere just with the seven of them and Argo whenever she crashed at their place, which was quite often.

"It's strange to see so few people at a frontline city." commented Basil as they neared the wall surrounding the city, fewer and fewer buildings around them."I barely even saw a player merchant in the center square and they used to thrive in new cities."

"Can't be helped, I guess." shrugged his shoulders Wedge who was less cheerful than normal."It's been almost a month since the 25th, yet we still only beat one boss. They are mostly waiting around if the frontline is stuck for good or not." he explained further when Natsu gave him a confused look.

It's not like their slow progress was only because of what happened with Kibaou. This floor's labyrinth lived up to its name more than any other they faced. It was vast and oftentimes confusing with confusing pathways and enfilade of rooms. Not to mention that with the political instability as Buzz called it, it was hard to have guilds work together and share critical map data, so they essentially had to go in blind with only the data they and Klein's group was able to gather until now.

They continued to walk in silence as they left the city and began to walk straight towards the labyrinth. Staying on the road let them avoid most of the mobs running around, the few who insisted on getting their way were easily dispatched between the four of them. Time only made working together with all that simpler.

As they neared the pillar that led to the next floor, Wedge felt the need to speak up, when he spotted once again a troubled expression on Natsu's face.

"What's troubling you little boss?" he asked, using the teasing nickname that he called him ever since the first floor.

Natsu stopped in his tracks, turning towards his friends, meeting their questioning stares. He gave an uncertain answer in response, looking around as if he felt in danger.

"Sorry, I just have a really bad feeling about this." he said, hoping the feeling of being watched would go away.

"You had to say this." said an amused Wedge, grinning at them."If we find a space battle station capable of destroying planets I'm blaming you." his grin faltered at the uncomprehending look from the two younger kids."Come on, Star Wars? The New Hope?" he grew more and more distressed as they only stared at him with blank faces. "How did you not see Star Wars? What are they teaching kids these days?" he asked.

"You're not that older than us." answered back Natsu, still not getting what was the problem.

"What kind of childhood did you guys have?" Wedge asked, still shell-shocked, not hearing him at all. He turned toward Biggs who gave a slow, long blink to give his version of shock. "What did happen to the world where little kids don't know Star Wars?" he turned back to Natsu and Basil, an almost manic determination in his eyes."It's decided then, no matter what we are getting out of this game and then I'm gonna strap you down to chairs and make you watch Star Wars, you hear me? Do you hear me, Kayaba? You can't stop me." He shouted up to the heavens, or the ceiling in this case. Thankfully no one living was around them as far as they could see.

Wedge and Biggs marched onward with renewed determination, whispering furiously to each other, waving their arms. Or more like Wedge was, while Biggs throw in a few comments once in a while. Natsu and Basil stayed at their spot, looking at the two older teens warily.

"What just happened?" asked Basil in the end, glancing questioningly at the brown-haired teen.

"No idea. And I don't want to know." he answered, feeling like he witnessed something not meant for his eyes.

They shared another look, before hurrying after the brothers, who finally seemed to calm down from their tirade. Once again they were silent as the group reached the edge of the labyrinth, only encountering a few monsters and no other players.

Before venturing in, they stopped to check they have everything they needed. There was a quick check of their weapons' and armors' durability, ensuring they had enough health potions and crystal and everyone had their emergency teleport crystal in case things became dicy. After the careful survey, with a nod shared between them they went in.

As if they stepped into a whole different world, everything changed around them in an instant. Gone were the open fields and green forests, they were walking in a dark, narrow tunnel, the floor cobbled and slippery from some kind of water that seemed to drop from the ceiling. The labyrinth of the 27th floor was a literal medieval catacomb. This whole place still creeped out most players, even though they were exploring it for the past 3 weeks.

The hallways were narrow, only two people could walk next to each other comfortably, while also able to draw their weapons if attacked. It was also dark, with torches placed in 5-meter intervals, but all it accomplished that the players jumped at every little shadow, fearing an ambush by sneaky enemies. There was also a constant sound of water dripping down, which was maddening after you spent hours running around in circles. To make matters worse, there were skeletons thrown around haphazardly at the ground, creeping out players especially since some of it tended to turn out to some hiding monster.

They gathered around Wedge who called up the available map data, updated with the progress Klein's group made the day before. The place was a literal maze, with still quite a few intersections that they haven't explored yet, with no clue where the boss room could be located.

"There." he said pointing at an intersection not far from them."There's still one corridor we have to check out, it could be as good a place to start as any. What do you think, little boss?" he asked, seeing the younger boy intently looking at the map.

Looking up, surprised at being called out, Natsu let out a sheepish chuckle when it was evident he was not paying attention at Wedge. Instead of being offended, he only smirked indicating he should speak up.

"I think we should start from here instead." he told them, pointing at the edge of their explored part of their map. "This s where Klein pulled out yesterday and according to him, they found stronger monsters around there. It could indicate being closer to the boss." that was not necessarily true, but they learned after all this time, it was better to follow Natsu's feelings, because nine times out of ten he would be right.

"Alright then." answered Wedge without missing a beat, indicating with his hand than they should go, the map remained to hover in front of him.

They quickly formed a line, Basil in front, shield held in front of him, ready to block any sudden attack. Behind him was Natsu, hand resting on his sword's handle, ready to counterattack right after Basil blocked an attack. Wedge was right after him, looking at the map and giving directions. Biggs brought up the rear. The big guy was a literal tank, especially with the heavy armor he began to wear not that long ago, easily able to shrug off an ambush from the back.

Some would say they were overly cautious, but this is the approach most players on the frontline tended to follow nowadays. Better slow and careful than hasty and dead, as Buzz liked to say.

-0-

"Raarrgh!" cried out a skeleton despite not having any vocal cords, raising his two-handed ax to strike. He was wearing rusty armor that was full of holes, a Viking helmet on his face that seemed to verge of falling off, and had a few arrows poking out of his rib cage for good measure.

Before the hit could strike, Basil stunned the creature with his shield glowing a light blue, the skill shield bash connecting without any difficulty.

"Switch!" he cried out, before stepping to the side, letting Natsu close the distance, damaging the disoriented skeleton with a well-placed horizontal. Thankfully the skill had a low cooldown, so almost immediately he was able to land two simple attacks, not wasting time with a sword skill. In response the skeleton warrior swung his ax at him, prompting him to hold up his sword in two hands to parry the attack.

He was pushed back by the force of the swing, mentally groaning at the slight pain from his arms. He should have dodged it, instead of trying to block it. There was a reason he focused more on agility than strength.

Before he could counterattack or his enemy could try another attack, Basil appeared on the side, his sword already mid-motion of the vertical skill. With a quick slash, he struck the skeleton, his sword slicing through the armor and bone of the monster. With a quiet roar, the skeleton burst into polygons, disappearing after a moment.

He gave a thankful nod to the Italian boy, lowering his sword and trying to get some feeling back into his arms. Looking to the other end of the corridor he saw Wedge and Biggs also dispatched the skeleton that attacked them from behind and were walking back to them. Their surroundings didn't change much despite being much deeper in the labyrinth, only that the light the torches gave seemed to gradually grow weaker and they were ambushed by monsters more often.

"Guess you were right, little boss." Wedge said with a smirk as they reached them, rapier lazily resting on his shoulder."The enemies are getting tougher, it probably means we are on the right track. Who knows, maybe we will find the boss room today?" Natsu gave a noncommital shrug at Wedge's question, his eyes scanning the darkness before them.

There was an unspoken race between most 'top' guilds about who could find each boss room first as if it would give some kind of prestige to them. Personally, Natsu didn't see the point of it. He simply explored labyrinths with his friends, if they or others found a boss room then he would go and participate in the boss fight. No need to complicate something that didn't need to.

"So, how's your 'bad feeling'?" asked Wedge conversationally from behind Natsu as they once again formed a line and began to cautiously move forward. Despite the almost audible quotation marks, there was no sarcasm in his voice, something he appreciated.

Unlike his classmates from the real-life, his new friends didn't make fun of him or called him stupid when he didn't understand something first or said something they didn't understand at first. They were patient, explaining game mechanics that sometimes went over his head or stopping him from acting recklessly. He couldn't ask for better friends.

"Nothing changed." that was true. He still felt uneasy about this whole venture. This was not the first time they explored this labyrinth but until now he never felt so concerned about their safety. "I would probably feel better if there were more of us." he admitted to the older boy.

After all, rarely did they ever went to the frontline floor in anything less than a full party, neither Buzz nor Agil ready to repeat the time where Ken, Basil, and Natsu almost ended up overwhelmed at the quest for Natsu's sword.

"Can't be helped, I suppose." said Wedge, trying to sound nonchalant, but he still looked uncomfortable. Thankfully the two younger kids didn't notice it because he was behind them. "Ken was supposed to join us, but Lisbeth asked him to help her find some new ingots and also level up her hammer skills." he shook his head, giving a little smirk."I don't envy him, it's the game equivalent of a girl taking you with her for shopping and making you carry everything. Klein and his guild are off farming to upgrade their equipment, Agil is overseeing the new members, trying to get them up to our standards, and Buzz is..probably doing some sort of work for Argo." he told them, though sounded uncertain at the last part. Unseen by Natsu or Basil, the two brothers shared a guilty look.

They once again descended into silence as they began to make their way among the corridors, only interrupted when they stopped the fight the occasional monster. Thankfully, while the small width of the corridors made it harder for them to move as freely as they were used to, it also worked in their favor, because it made it hard for the mobs to overwhelm them with large numbers.

"I don't really want to know how bad this could be if we weren't over-leveled for this floor." said Wedge, rolling his shoulders as they regrouped. It was almost two hours since they first entered the labyrinth, the frequency of ambushes only growing the deeper they ventured.

"At least we are making good progress." said Basil, walking in front of them, looking into the darkness warily. "I see an intersection ahead." he informed them as they walked near it.

"Finally. I feared this would be a dead-end, we had been walking straight for at least half an hour." cheered the rapier user, as they all fastened their pace."Maybe we would find the boss room at last?"

"Possible." shrugged Natsu, who continued to keep a lookout for any enemies, even as he tried to catch up with the others."That or some kind of treasure chest waiting for us." Either way, they could still call the day productive.

The corridor they were following split into two, going into different directions. That was by itself was not very surprising, what was that the left one seemed to lead up, while the right one led into a lower level. Up until now, the labyrinth seemed to be on one level, not multiple ones like some labyrinth on lower levels.

"Oh man, you want to tell me there's probably more levels of this thing?" whined Wedge, grabbing his head in frustration."It already feels like more work than we needed to put in the last ten floors, and now this? Which way should we even go?"

"Well, common sense would say we should go up since the labyrinth connects to the floor above." said Natsu, shrugging when all three of them looking at him in question."But common sense is not something that game has a lot, so who knows?"

Basil opened his mouth to answer, but he was cut off when a frightened scream rang, followed by the sounds of fighting. As one they looked in the direction of the right corridor, that seemed to go down, where the sounds seemed to originate. Not wasting a moment to think, Natsu was off running towards the danger, Basil quickly following him.

"Nevermind." said Wedge to himself, before along with Biggs ran after the younger kids."You know this is why Buzz never lets you go anywhere alone?" he shouted to Natsu but was ignored by the young boy.

After a little while the ground evened out, the route they followed broking into 3 different corridors. It did not slow down the brown-haired swordsman, who turned to the right with such confidence as if he knew exactly where he was going. Meanwhile, the sounds became so much more desperate, making him push his body to reach them in time, though he tried not to lose his friends because he was not a fool to think he alone would make a big enough difference whatever those people were fighting against.

The fighting sounded almost next to him as he ran into a long tunnel, uncaring in he passed any monsters or that the weak light the torches gave became weaker every step he took. Just before he could truly disappear into the darkness, a strong light appeared at the end of the tunnel, prompting him to force his virtual body to its limits.

As he burst out of it, the sudden change in lighting blinded him for a second, making him stop, less he ran into someone or something. He blinked furiously, trying to will himself to see, while he also heard his friends stop behind him, probably just as blind as him.

His vision cleared after repeated blinks, and Natsu couldn't help but let out a soft gasp as soon as he could see. They were in what looked like an underground arena, a spacious hall with a dozen openings similar to the one they exited. The ceiling was shining as if it was a sun, lighting up the whole hall A pained cry rang out, turning his and his friends' attention to the center of the arena.

A skeleton stood there, bigger than any they have seen up until now, easily twice the height of Biggs, one of the tallest people he had seen. Instead of a human skeleton, it looked like a lizard, with a long tail and elongated skull. It had very little armor, only just a beaten up pauldron and a metal helmet that seemed to miss almost half of itself. it also had some tattered pants on, with a long sheath hanging from this back. The monster waved around a nodachi, that also looked like it went through a grinder, it's attention completely focused on the group of players surrounding it.

There were in total of six people around the skeleton, in various conditions. Three of them seemed to be down for the count, two men and a girl, riddled with various injuries, hanging onto life by a thread from the looks of it. Before they stood a large man in heavy armor, his large shield paced in front of him defensively. There was also a young woman using a spear and an older man using a mace with a shield on the other side of the skeleton, desperately trying to redirect its attention.

Unfortunately, the monster seemed to care little for them, content in focusing its attention on the shield user trying to defend his friends. Fortunately, the four of them managed to stumble on them just in time to help out.

"Doesn't that look a lot like Illfang?" asked Wedge from his side as he caught sight of what must be the labyrinth's miniboss. His tone was surprised and intrigued at the same time."Why does he have to torment us even after his death?"

Now that he mentioned it, the rampaging skeleton did remind Natsu of the boss of the first floor, who almost broke their progress before it could even start, by changing behavior patterns compared to the beta test and catching most of them off-guard.

Focusing on it, its basic information namely its name and HP were revealed. Its name was Illfang, the Undead Kobold, lending credence to Wedge's words. It looked like after being defeated on the first floor the Kobold Kind was 'reborn' as an undead miniboss. Talk about demoting.

Still, the thought of once again facing Illfang sent a tingle of fear through Natsu. Illfang was the first boss, the first serious enemy they faced. The battle against him was the one that really sent home what it meant to fight in the frontline. Most of the time they went in blind, never really sure what they would face. Every moment and every skill counted, tipping the scale between life and death. And now the first enemy, the first hurdle they passed came back with a vengeance.

He gripped his sword tighter, forcing himself to not linger on these thoughts. He may not like the thought of taking Illfang on once more, but there was a group of people in danger and never let it be said that the Keepers of Seven Rings ever left someone in trouble.

"That doesn't matter." he said more to himself, than to the others, but it gained their attention. He quickly surveyed the battlefield, widening his eyes at the positions of the still fighting players, having and inkling what would the Undead Kobold do next. "Biggs, go cover those injured." the big guy nodded simply, before setting off to aid the shield user that tried to defend his comrades. "Basil, cover me, we go against the boss." the blonde boy only nodded, a resolute look in his eyes. He turned towards Wedge, but the older boy cut him off, rapier ready for the oncoming fight.

"Make me an opening and I'll take it." he said confidently.

"Alright. Let's go!" he ordered, and for a moment he wondered how much he changed if he could order and plan as he did just now, but he soon forgot about it, concentrating on the here and now. Dread filled him as he recognized the move Illfang was about to initiate, after all, he came close to dying, trying to block that one."Get away from there! He's about to use an AOE attack!" he shouted, trying to warm the other players.

Unfortunately, his warning came too late. With around half of his HP lost, surrounded by players on two sides, Illfang activated one of his most dangerous sword skills, Tsumujiguruma. It was the omnidirectional, AOE attack that stunned the large part of the raid party when they were first caught off guard by the change in weapons back on the first floor and almost cost Diavel his life.

But this was different. They were aware of the attack the miniboss planned on using, since their first encounter, they fought more than their share of enemies using katana skills and they had a counterattack in place.

As Illfang crouched down, Natus, Basil, and Wedge willed their bodies to run faster than ever before, to make it in time. The skeleton jumped up, turning his body in mid-air, the nodachi began to shine with a purple light.

The moment Illfang reached the ground, but before the skill was actually launched, Natsu felt that for a moment, the whole world stood still. He saw with perfect clarity, Basil running ahead of him, shield already placed in front of his body, to block most of the attack. From the corner of his eyes, he saw the three fallen players trying to get out of the way, Biggs pull their defender back, so he could avoid the brunt of the ranged skill, on the other side the spear wielder had reacted quickly enough to back away, but the mace-user was stuck back at the blast zone. He felt Wedge running behind him, already readying his own sword skill, just like him.

He felt his nonexistent virtual muscles tense, the system taking over his conscious movements as he took Sonic Leap's activation pose. In this moment of clarity, he could see how beautiful this world could have been if they weren't trapped in it. Every day he was amazed how real this world looked, even though there was always a sense of something missing, that would make him remember that it was only virtual, but now, in the middle of a battle, he could truly appreciate it. He could finally understand how could Kirito spend days out in the fields, not just because he wanted to escape and go home, but he genuinely liked fighting, something Natsu could understand. There was a lure in it, and the excitement of living their fantasies, to be the heroes they wanted to be even since they were little kids.

He couldn't help but smile, even as the moment finally ended and the world once again moved at its normal speed as Illfang launched the high-level katana skill.

"Basil." he called out, but it was not needed, as his friend already braced himself to cover both Natsu and Wedge from the ranged attack. He absently noted the mace wielder caught in the attack, his body hurling away, helpless, affected by the stun, the others mostly coming out of the attack unscathed.

The purple light of the Kobold's sword skill only began to dissipate when Natsu made his move. The Tsumujiguruma was a high-level sword skill and while it could deal a massive amount of damage, like most sword skills it had a serious downside. This skill had an extremely long post-motion delay that wouldn't be a problem normally if every enemy was affected by the skill and its Stun debuff but could be easily exploited if one knew the mechanics of it well enough.

He stepped away from Basil, who was thrown back a little by the power of Illfang's attack, and used one of his most frequent sword skill, his opening gambit, Sonic Leap. He felt the system overtake his movements, directing him towards the still frozen skeleton in a charge. Concentrating, he willed himself not to aim to the chest, instead he charged towards the arm that held the nodachi.

Unlike old MMO's, in this game, it did matter where you were able to strike your enemy. The damage could change based on which limb you hit, but it was more than that. If you strike a limb like the arms or legs with enough force, you can unbalance your opponent, which could be even more dangerous than a simple stun debuff. Of course, it also came with risks. Your enemy could read your attack and counter you when you open yourself like that, and with skilled enemies with quick enough reflexes, they could simply recover soon enough that any advantage is lost too quickly to be worth the risks. It also stood for the monsters they faced, since according to Kirito, they seemed to be more intelligent, more difficult to beat as they ascended, toward the 100th floor.

But against an enemy trapped by post-motion delay, it was a child's play. That's why Natsu's Sonic Leap landed on Illfang's arm, further unbalancing the large monster and preventing a swift counterattack the moment when the undead could move again. Lowering his body as much he could, he sailed past Illfang, immediately feeling himself freezing as his own delay kicked in. But it was alright since he would be moving sooner than Illfang since Sonic Leap was a basic skill with a shorter penalty and more importantly, he opened up the miniboss fully to receive the skill Wedge was charging.

Flashing Penetrator was a rapier skill, that at first looked a lot like Sonic Leap, if not a little more inconvenient to use. It needed a large speed to build up before launching itself, so against players or in the middle of a battle, it was not advised to use it since it could be easily countered. But as a surprise attack, it was very effective, even though it was only a one-hit skill, it had a lot of power behind him.

Wedge's rapier shined with white light, he was moving so fast he left a trail of light behind him, reminiscent of a comet, the run towards Illfang was more than enough to fuel and start his skill. He may not have the fame Asuna had, who was already nicknamed as the Flash for her exceptional speed, but he was still one of the strongest rapier users currently in-game. With the opportunity Natsu created for him, he launched his attack, landing it in the middle of the former first-floor boss's chest, where he had the most chance of not missing because of the space between bones.

A sonic boom rang through the room as Illfang, already unbalanced form stumbled back from the force of the blow. Unfortunately, while it took out a large part of its remaining HP it was not enough to finish the job. Already, the Undead Kobold raised his sword to attack Wedge, but Basil was already there covering the older boy.

Seeing the mace user slowly getting back to his feet, the spear user at his side, trying to attack Illfang from behind. Natsu called out to them.

"Don't surround him, or he will use the AOE attack once again." he advised, before turning his attention back to the battle raging on."Form a half circle to keep him getting past us.

"Right." he heard a gruff voice, but he couldn't spare them any more attention. He quickly caught up to Basil and Wedge and began to pepper the miniboss with various attacks.

They alternated between attacking and defending, depending on who Illfang focused on. Basil mostly bunkered down and tanked attacks heading his way, while Natsu and Wedge dodged and tried to keep out of effective range. Soon it became a strange cat and mouse game where the roles switched repeatedly.

He soon felt himself pick up the pace of the battle, his every sense concentrating on the fight. He stuck to simple attacks, with a few horizontals and verticals thrown in whenever Illfang's attention was elsewhere. Buzz and Kirito made sure that in their different ways to drill the rules of combat in solo and small numbers. Control your pace, don't overextend, pick your battles. Be ready to change an attack into a parry at any second, don't stay in one place, and don't let yourself be surrounded. Don't bother with fancy high-level sword skills if the enemy has plenty of HP and you can't be sure that they won't counter you. Keep in mind the post-motion delay of skills, look for any tells on the enemy of what skill it would use and use it against him, but don't leave yourself open. These and many other warnings rang in his head as they slowly but surely chipped away the skeleton lizard's health while avoiding the worst of its attacks.

He figured the injured players were pulled into a safe distance, because soon both the spear and mace users joined them, while Biggs made his way back to Wedge's side. They began to work together in effective small groups, further forcing Illfang to divide its attention.

Seeing Biggs and Wedge work together was quite something, any person who knew a little about fighting could tell this. Biggs had the strength and durability to play the role of an indestructible wall that will make you regret lingering close to his reach, while Wedge had the agility and accuracy to step out from behind his brother and pepper any enemy with countless deadly thrust before retreating. They did not need any words to communicate, the brothers seemed to read each other's minds as they supported each other.

The unknown duo fought in a similar way, the mace user using his shield to soak up damage and attack mercilessly in close quarters, while the other used her polearm to attack from a safe distance, leaving the man to defend her if she happened to overextend herself.

Natsu and Basil, on the other hand, used a different tactic. They both used one-handed swords and trained with each other for almost half a year, they knew each other very well and which skills they preferred. Instead of simply switching, their attack could be described as an incredibly choreographed dance. They fought close to each other, several times almost bumping into the other if not for the precise knowledge of how the other moved and fought. They practically spammed sword skills one after other, carefully timing their attacks so whenever either of them froze the other was leading with a new attack, not letting Illfang any room to strike back. Whenever they were forced into defense, Basil simply blocked while Natsu slipped past the easily telegraphed attacks.

Illfang may have had the upper hand when it faced the original group of players, but whatever advantages it had were lost with the joining of four high-leveled players who worked seamlessly together, and three of them vividly remembered his attack patterns that the undead version of the monster did not change one bit. Before long, the skeleton lizard gave a soundless roar while it tried to back away, only a few chips remaining of his health.

"Natsu." cried out Wedge, before Biggs ran forward, stopping in front of the wildly swinging nodachi. He dug his toes in as the sword directly struck his shield, letting out an audible grunt but not moving an inch. With the attack blocked, Illfang's skeleton body staggered back, leaving itself completely open to Natsu who ran forward the moment the opportunity presented itself.

His sword shining in orange light, he unleashed his strongest current skill, Sharp Nail, the skill that partially earned him the nickname, Orange Blaze. The three-hit combo struck Illfang, slicing through bone with ease, extinguishing the last of the kobold's second life.

With a helpless roar, the miniboss fell back, body bursting into little polygons before landing on the ground. With the abrupt end of the battle, a silence descended on the large hall, broken by the sound of rapid breathing from the 6 fighters.

"And this time do us all a favor and stay dead." shouted Wedge out of nowhere, panting in exhaustion.

The others looked at him in surprise, before suddenly all four of them began laughing, the heavyweight of battle coming off. It was not their hardest battle to date, they knew the enemy's patterns well before and it lost most of it's HP by the time they joined in, but Illfang was the first boss Natsu, Biggs and Wedge faced and the thought of once again going up against it, was mentally exhausting.

When they calmed down, the mace user walked towards them, while favoring his right side, still feeling pain from catching the Tsumujiguruma point-blank. The woman wasn't with him, probably went to check over the others.

"Thank you for your help." he said in a deep, gruff voice. He was one of the oldest players Natsu met in the game, with faint wrinkles around his eyes and his hair greying out. He was a short, blocky man, with a stern expression. He wore a simple set of armor, nothing really standing out, though they hanged out around Lis and Agil enough to easily see good craftsmanship when they saw one. Still, it was not as high-leveled as their own. His shield was a simple green, round shield with a small piece coming out of it. "If it wasn't for you we wouldn't have gotten away unscathed." from his expression alone he seemed like a prideful man, who had difficulty accepting help.

Wedge met Natsu's eyes and a simple nod of his head indicated that the younger boy should speak for their group. Both he and Buzz tended to do this to him. At first, he thought that being named guild leader was more of a joke thing, but both of them, with Agil occasionally joining, practically forced him to act as their leader, spokesperson, and generally man up as Buzz once eloquently put it.

He put on a smile on his face as he sheathed his sword and turned to the older man.

"No problem. We were happy to help." he told him sincerely."You did most of the hard work, we just finished it."

"There is no need to be so humble. Roger may not be able to admit it, but we were at the end of our rope. your help couldn't have come at a better time." said a regal, feminine voice next to him. Looking to the side, he saw the rest of the other group walking to them, led by the spear user. The large shielder helped one of the injured men walk, while the other two followed slowly, thankful smiles on their faces.

The woman on the lead was tall, lithe with long blonde hair that she wore in a simple braid. Her armor was slightly more stylish and decorated than Roger's. She had grey eyes that and a kind face, though her high cheekbones gave her a slightly regal look. Her spear that rested on her back seemed to be a real beauty, decorated with gold carvings, and easily higher leveled than the rest of her group's gear. It had a large ruby gem resting in the crossguard.

The large man who shielded his friends was large in every sense of the world. Unlike Biggs who was simply tall, broad-shouldered with a generous amount of muscle, this man was large in the way that he was in a simple word fat. His stomach bulged outward, barely contained by the heavy armor he wore. He was older than them, probably in his mid-twenties, he had short black hair and little, beady eyes. He looked their way with a not too impressed expression, despite saving his hide just now.

The young man he was helping was a teen around Wedge's age. He had long brown hair that he wore in a traditional knot. Along with his samurai armor and katana at his side, he looked like he was a samurai straight from the feudal era. He looked weary and had an apologetic smile on his face, as he slowly limped towards them.

The last two were around Natsu's age, surprising since there were very few players under the age of 13, and save for Basil, Ken, and him, they tended to avoid the frontline. As a matter of fact, Natsu knew from Argo that there was a church in the City of Beginning, where an older player decided to take in and look after the younger kids who were too afraid to leave the safety of the town. That's why, despite being part of the cleaners since the 1st floor, most people who haven't seen him up close tended to be surprised that the famous Orange Blaze was just a kid.

The boy of the pair was a kid with curiously bright orange hair and circular glasses. he seemed to be wearing chainmail of sorts, along with a large two-handed sword on his back. It wasn't as unusual as one would believe at first glance, despite the slightly comical look. This wasn't the real world, in Sao as long as someone completed the level and stat requirements once could wield any weapon. Theoretically, even a toddler, if it had the requirements, could wave a two-handed sword around like it was no big deal.

The boy did look a little shaken, understandable after what happened, but he looked his way with such awe on his face, Natsu felt a little self-conscious. Thanks to his infamous moniker, many people knew his name but most people he interacted with were frontliners just like himself. From them, he got looks of respect, an acknowledgment as a comrade, or maybe plain surprise, but no one ever looked at him in such blatant awe, at least not that he knew of.

The young girl had dark red hair, that framed her face in a bowl cut with grey eyes that reminded Natsu of a brewing storm for some reason. She wore lighter armor, a simple leather armor appropriate for her level, and had a dagger strapped to her belt. Out of the six players, she was the most afraid, trembling as they approached them, fearfully looking at the place where Illfang disappeared.

Natsu had to wonder, why she was here if she was so afraid. He was around other people enough to know how one looked when they almost died, but that was more shock than fear. But he could tell, she was carrying that almost paralyzing fear with her long before they encountered the skeleton remains of the Kobold King, so had to wonder, why was she here in the first place.

"No problem." said Wedge, throwing an arm around Natsu and tousling his hair much to his protest."We are no stranger to dangers, thanks to our reckless leader."

"Get off me." he tried to squirm out of the older boy's grasp to no avail. The other group simply blinked in astonishment at the sudden change of attitude. Gone was the confident swordsman that directed them in the fight and now he looked and acted his age. According to Argo, it could be quite jarring to those who were not familiar with him.

"We were happy to help." ever the polite one, Basil easily ignored the quarreling duo and bowed in a traditional Japanese manner. Biggs simply remained silent in the background, watching in amusement.

Natsu and Wedge were interrupted when the blonde woman began laughing, putting her hand on her mouth, trying to hold it back. She seemed genuinely amused at them, but for some reason, Natsu got the feeling she was acting.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance." she said after she calmed down, mirroring Basil's bow. "I'm Morgana. You already met Roger." she said, pointing to the older man, who gave a crisp nod.

"Hi, there. Name's Ian." the katana user waved at them with his free, easy-going smile on his face. "The big guy is, Grumpleshorken, but we simply call him Grumpy." the large man helping him gave a simple grunt at that, continuing to stare distrustfully at Natsu's group.

"And this is Fives and Annabelle." Morgana continued, gesturing to the younger kids, who only stared at them in awe and shock respectively.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Wedge, and this is my brother Biggs." introduced themselves Wedge, his brother nodding them amicably."This is Basil and the short one is our little boss, Natsu."

"I'm not short! I still have a lot of growing up to do." cried out Natsu, feeling outraged. Ever since Buzz began constantly commenting on his height, he found out it bothered him. Of course, it only prompted Wedge to do as well, whenever he was bored enough.

"You are the Orange Blaze!" cried out Fives suddenly, scaring Annabelle standing at his side. He blushed for a moment when he noticed everyone looking at him, but he soldiered on, talking to Natsu quickly."You are one of the strongest players in the game, and the youngest to boot. I heard a lot about you, how you killed the 5th-floor boss with a single skill, that you are a former beta tester who reached the 50th floor all by himself, and you were trained by the Black Swordsman. I want to be just as strong warrior like you." he rambled on, stars almost literally shining in his eyes.

Overwhelmed by the blatant hero-worship from the boy, especially as most of his life with the exception of Ken and Basil, kids his age mocked and bullied him frequently, Natsu backed away, feeling embarrassed. He almost tried to hide behind Basil, he was so not used to this. He didn't even have any idea where those outrageous rumors came from.

If he tried to stop and think about it, the answer was obvious in hindsight. Argo.

"Everyone alright?" asked Wedge, for once trying to cut the brown-haired boy a break.

"Yes, thank you." answered Morgana."We thought we were well-equipped for this dungeon and save for this one, the other monsters were nothing we couldn't deal with."

"You guys made it look easy." quipped Ian, finally standing by himself, healed up.

"We were at an advantage." told him Natsu, happy to think about something else."This miniboss shared the name and its attack pattern with the first-floor boss, Illfang, the Kobold King." Morgana and her group looked surprised at that. "Except Basil, we were all there at that boss battle and were already aware of how to counter its attacks."

"That's certainly impressive." Roger agreed with a nod, before looking at his friends."I think it's time we turn back. We made good progress, no need to try our luck needlessly." Morgana agreed with a firm nod, while Fives gave a longing look at Natsu's group, but agreed as well. Soon the others also agreed with him.

"Oh, before you go, do you guys mind comparing map data?" asked Wedge when they seemed ready to go back."We think we have a good part of the labyrinth mapped out already, but it could be a big help if you took a different route. If we're lucky we may even find the boss room.

"Certainly. This is the least we can do for the help you gave us." agreed Morgana, after she and Roger shared a look. With that, both she and Wedge opened up their menus to bring out the maps of the labyrinth.

Meanwhile, Natsu looked around, eying the opening leading into this hall, feeling on edge. He felt a small tingling sensation on the back of his head as if someone was watching him. And yes, Fives still looked at him like he hung the moon, Natsu felt it was someone else. And since the Death Game started he certainly learned to trust his feelings.

Before he could contemplate more a quiet gasp from Morgana and a shocked shout from Wedge turned his attention back to his friends.

"What's going on?" demanded Wedge from the menu he was looking at intently, furiously tapping it.

"What's wrong?" asked Roger as he stepped closer to Morgana, who also tried to manipulate her menu.

"Bring out your map data, all of you." Wedge told everyone, his voice not carrying any of the mirths he used almost all the time. He was completely serious.

Natsu did as he asked, the others quickly following suit, and opened his menu, quickly finding the map menu point. He tapped on it but was shocked to find that instead of the map coming up, all he got was static with the error message 'No Map Data Available' in bright red.

"What does that mean?" asked Ian, sounding confused. A quick look around confirmed that everyone saw the same scene before them.

Natsu looked around, eying the identical tunnels, knowing that it would be impossible to tell where they have come. It was also a moot point, they were deep enough in the labyrinth they couldn't have remembered the whole way back.

"It means, things are going to get complicated." said Wedge quietly, sharing a worried look with Natsu. They both knew the prudent thing would be pulling back, cutting their losses, and inform other players about this twist so they could be better prepared.

"Do you have teleport crystal on you?" asked Basil."With no map and no idea what we are going up against, it would be a good idea if you went back to town."

Unfortunately, they didn't seem to be having any luck. Annabelle's head snapőped towards Roger a fearful, panicked look on her face, while Morgana shifted uncomfortably. Roger had a pained look on his face as he shook his head.

"We don't have any. We poured all our money for the equipment and potions, figuring we could handle ourselves." he admitted.

"We only have one crystal per person with us." said Wedge, and from the look of the others' faces told Natsu what they were thinking. There was no reason for his group. to risk themselves for strangers they just met. It was logical to retreat, even if it meant leaving them behind to fend for themselves. It didn't mean he agreed with it.

"Guess we have no choice but stick together." he told them with a small smile, causing even the still distrustful Grumpy to blink in shock."This game is nothing but fair in a deathly, detached manner. If we look around long enough we ough to find something that restores our maps."

It was true. Despite being a game, where if you reach 0 HP you die, the game was fair in its own way. It made sense. If Kayaba wanted to kill them, all he had to do is to have all nerve gear fry the players. Instead, he made them play this death game. He did not make things easy, no one was invincible but even in the direst situations there were always ways to escape, one only had to find them. Survival of the fittest in its finest, where only those could thrive who can adapt to the changing circumstances.

"You are right, little boss." there was obvious relief in Wedge's voice. He didn't want to leave Roger and his group behind, but he also needed to look out for Natsu and Basil. He did not want to make this decision and was thankful for Natsu to take it off of his shoulders. Looking at his other friends, he saw both Basil and Bigss smiling at him in support, happy for his decision.

"Then we once again thank you for your help." said Morgana graciously, after giving a look to Grumpy who was a moment away from objects.

"Then let's get going." Ian said with a forced smile, trying to ease the tense atmosphere.

-0-

From the shadows of one of the tunnels, two figures were watching the two groups as they tried to decide where to go. They wore long, black cloaks that helped them blend into the darkness. Both of them were fairly short and thin, though one of them was clearly female.

"Big Sister, I'm bored. When can I kill them?" one of the figures whined in a high-pitched voice while playing with a dagger. Their wrist was visible, showing a tattoo of a coffin with eyes and a laughing mouth.

"Try to be a little more patient." the other answered in a stern, feminine voice."Let the little flies fly around, while we weave around our pretty trap." she turned around and began to walk away, quietly giggling to herself."After all, the difference between us and them is that we are predators. And they are our prey."


	9. Level 9 Mystery in the labyrinth part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mystery of the labyrinth continues and the plot thickens

**Level 9 Mystery in the labyrinth part 2**

The previously cheery atmosphere turned tense and dreary in an instant.

"What are we gonna do?" Annabelle asked the young girl looked at the edge of a panic attack.

Unfortunately, she was not alone. Fives looked around warily as if he feared Illfang would make a reappearance so soon after its second demise. Ian also lost the easy smile he had on his face, while Grumpy quietly fumed by himself. Thankfully, the adults, Roger and Morgana remained calm, at least on the outside, likewise, Natsu and his group stayed confident since they made it out of much worse situations.

"We stay together and go forward. Sooner or later we should be able to find an exit or restore somehow our maps." Wedge told her, sending a reassuring smile to the younger kids."With our numbers, we should have no trouble with any mobs."

"I hate to be the one to ask this, but what happens if we don't find a way out anytime soon?" Morgana asked with a worried frown on her face. In response Wedge turned a lot grim.

"If by the time night arrives," everyone quickly checked their clocks, it was around 2 p.m." If we hadn't gotten away, we find a safe zone where we can camp out. Biggs and I will give our teleport crystals to Fives and Annabelle, so they along with Natsu and Basil can teleport out and get some reinforcements." he told them. Roger gave him a thankful nod, while the kids looked relieved.

"No." Natsu cut in, surprising everybody. He ignored their looks, instead, he looked straight at Wedge. "Basil and I are better equipped, with higher levels than any of them. We are also much more used to fighting for a long time. If it comes to that, we will stay." at his side Basil nodded resolutely, showing his agreement.

Wedge drew himself up as if he was readying himself to argue, before slumping forward, like he lost all his energy.

"I can't convince you otherwise?" he tried at last, though he seemed to know the answer already. Both boys shook their heads.

He threw his hands into the air as if saying that he gave up, before turning back to the other group who watched with various amounts of amusement.

"So what should we do? Should we split up?" asked Ian, who seemed more confident after the slightly comical byplay.

"No, without our maps to rely on, we could easily lose track of each other." told him Natsu after thinking over the idea."We should stick together."

"But the corridors are incredibly narrow. How can we fight effectively?" asked Morgana, a hand on her chin.

The KotSR members looked at each other, deep in thought. It was indeed a good question. A ten-person group was much too large of a group to fight with coordination in such tight quarters. In the end, the answer came from the most silent of them.

"We should move similarly to how we did up until now." Biggs told them in a soft voice, standing behind Wedge, ready, and alert.

"That's not a bad idea." his brother agreed quickly, getting what he was referring to."A tank in front and one behind in case of a surprise attack. With damage dealers between them, this tactic worked well for us. If we could modify it for the bigger group, it would save us a lot of headaches." he said with a confident smirk.

"I think I know how to work around that." stated Natsu with a growing smile.

In the end, they decided on a simple but effective formation. Basil walked in front, with Tsuna and Ian following in a V formation. Thanks to that, both of them were free to assist Basil the moment they encountered the monster. Roger, Fives, Annabelle, and Grumpy were in the middle. They were the safest out of all of them, but close enough to switch with anybody if the need arises. The rear guard was Bigg, with Wedge and Morgana in a revere v formation. Morgana, with her spear, could easily attack from next to Biggs, without taking too much a risk, while Wedge had free reign to attack mercilessly from behind the living shield that was his brother.

Deciding that it would serve no purpose to wait in one place they soon left, using a randomly chosen corridor. As they advanced they encountered a few monsters which they defeated with ease, allowing them to move forward with a sense of calm. Thankfully, Annabelle who was the most scared out of all of them calmed down somewhat since she found herself in relative safety.

"How did your group came together? Most players at the front line with the exception of a small minority are in guilds. But you guys don't belong to one, neither you are solos. How come?" inquired Wedge curiously.

"We mostly just found each other I guess." answered Ian, shrugging his shoulders."I and Grumpy knew each other in real life and stuck together since we met in-game. We found Fives and Annabelle trying to level up and we teamed up and didn't see a reason not to continue working together. It wasn't until a month ago when we encountered Roger who helped us reach the needed level for the Frontline. Morgana came a week later and we decided to join the cleaners. We planned to form or join a guild after we were done here." he explained honestly.

"And how did you meet, if you don't mind me asking?" asked Morgana with a light smile on her face.

"We mostly met back on the first floor." explained Natsu as they stopped at an intersection, before deciding to turn to the right. "We met at the first boss strategy meeting where Biggs and Wedge joined with our group. We later met up to form our guild." he said, not wanting to get into Basil's unique circumstances.

With that, they once again descended into silence. They dispatched the few groups of monsters they ran into, and briefly, Roger took Ian's place to give the younger man a bit of a needed break. Thankfully Natsu's group was more than used to long hours in dungeons, so they were good for the time being.

The monsters seemed to come in greater numbers against them, though nothing they couldn't handle. The area was full of dead ends and the maze was much more annoying without a reliable nap to at least determine which routes to try out.

"Is it me or we really seem to be going in circles?" asked Fives suddenly, when they caught a bit of a break.

Natsu privately had to agree. It's been two hours since they left the arena and they yet to find anything that could be used to restore their maps, the boss room, or even a safe zone. And since standing around did not achieve a thing, begrudgingly they had to go forward.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we are going the right way." said Wedge with an optimistic smile, trying not to spook the two younger kids. His smile quickly faded when turning around the corner they found themselves back in the arena they started from. The only positive thing that Illfang didn't seem to respawn since his last defeat.

"Looks like we're going in circles." said Grumpy snidely, glaring at Wedge who looked taken aback by the malicious gaze of the older man.

"Let's just calm down. It's no use fighting each other." Ian said, stepping between them and trying to diffuse the situation.

"I will not calm down. These little kids were ordering us left and right ever since they appeared and look where it got us? We're in the middle of a death trap!" he bellowed in rage, causing Annabelle to hide behind Roger in fright. "I had enough. I won't let a snot-nosed brat tell me what to do! None of you." he sent another glare to the teens before turning around and storming away into a nearby corridor.

"Grumpy, wait." Ian called after him and was about to walk after him when Roger stopped him with a hand placed on his shoulder.

"Let him go and cool off." he told the younger man, an understanding look on his face."He knows very well not to go too far away, he will be fine."

After a few moments, Ian relented, turning back to Wedge and the others with an apologetic face.

"Sorry about him." he apologized for his friend with a bow of his head."He is not really a bad guy, but he has this issue of not believing anyone younger than him should have any authority over him. Especially here in the game, he feels like younger people are more of a burden than any help."

"Don't worry about it." Natsu waved away his apology, a sad smile on his face."We are used to attitudes like his."

It was sad but true. Many adults felt that kids had no place near the 'battlefield', even now after almost half a year spent in this game. A lot of people told him, Ken, and Basil to go and play somewhere even if they were several levels higher than them and could mop the floor easily with them. Wedge and Biggs got a lot less flak about their age, but there were still those complaining at times.

According to Buzz, most of these people weren't really worried over them, it's more because their ego, their pride, whatever you gonna call it was wounded to be shown up by kids half or third of their age. Natsu thought that was idiotic since the top players included people like him, Kirito, or Asuna, all of them young kids who were with the Frontline since the start. And they were not the only ones.

"Still, this is not an easy situation." Basil admitted as he made a quick check of his remaining potions."We couldn't appreciate how easy the map made things until it was no longer there."

"Quite right. This a most troublesome trap." said Morgana, though to Natsu she looked distracted, looking at something in the corner of her eyes frequently.

He was about to inquire about that when a blood-curdling scream reached them, freezing them in their tracks. It was not the scream of a monster, but a man.

"Grumpy!" Ian cried out in fright before bolting forward at the same time Natsu began to dash in the direction the large shield user went, Basil following after a moment. The others also ran after them after recovering from their shock.

"What's happening?" Wedge asked from the back as he and his brother made sure no monster could attack them from behind even as they ran.

"Grumpy's health bar depleted suddenly. It's already in the red zone." informed Roger, huffing as he tried to keep pace with the others since he was one of the slowest in their group.

Natsu meanwhile reached Ian and even pulled ahead, following the now easily hearable sounds of fighting. Thankfully Grumpy didn't wander too far and it was easier to locate him.

Turning around a corner he froze in place as he found the man, lying helplessly on the ground, surrounded by 5 skeleton warriors who were attacking him prone form without a hint of mercy. Natsu was a small, yellow mark above Grumpy, showing the man was suffering from paralysis, unable to even defend himself.

It reminded him too much of the recent fight against the 25th boss. The boss did not have paralysis, but most of his attacks caused stun and most of Kibaou's attack force was crippled in short order, and by the time he and his friends reached them, almost all of the survivors were on the ground, crying out in pain and helplessness. Those cries kept him awake at night, where he couldn't escape from the guilt of not being faster and stronger.

"No!" Ian's heartwrenching cry thankfully snapped out of him, prompting him to move.

By the time he realized he was moving, he was already in the middle of launching a sonic leap. He felt his body propel forward and did his best to banish the memories, he needed to concentrate on the here and the now.

With a powerful yell, he crashed into one of the skeletons, pushing it back and away from Grumpy's prone form. Instead of capitalizing on the opening he made, Natsu turned his body and attacked another skeleton with a horizontal, gaining its attention. He didn't bother with the feeling of a sword slamming into his side, he hurried forward, trying to gain the attention of all of the skeletons attacking the downed player.

'Just a little bit more.' he told himself, ignoring the small decrease of his hp. "Don't worry about the damage, you can take it, unlike him. Aggro, I have to aggro all of them, so I can gain time until the others arrive. Just a little more!' he yelled to himself as he smalled a normal attack against the third skeleton.

Unfortunately, the other skeletons completely ignored him, their programming content to concentrate on weakened players, like Grumpy in this instance, who was at the very end of his rope. Natus also saw from the corner of his eyes, Ian watching the fight in fright, trembling violently, so he could expect little help from him.

"Natsu!" came a harsh cry, just as he noticed one of the skeletons next to him, battleax raised to catch him at his unguarded side. Even as he tried to move his body, he was well aware he could not make it in time. He resigned himself of trying to absorb as much of the blow as he could, before Basil appeared out of nowhere, blocking the attack meant for him. "I'll watch your back. Go!" the Italian teen roared as he continued to stand in the way of the skeletons' relentless attacks.

Trusting Basil without a doubt, Natsu turned back and unleashed vertical on the fourth skeleton, staggering it away from Grumpy and gaining its attention. For a moment, he began to hope that he can make it in time. Basil held back the other monsters, while the others could arrive any minute. As soon as his body could move from the post-motion delay he pivoted and hurled toward the last skeleton, needing to gain just a little more time for the surly swordsman.

But it seemed he was too late. As he went toward the fifth mob, to him it seemed to laugh at him as he plunged his rusty sword into Grumpy's body, who gave a silent cry as he saw his hp reach zero. He met Natsu's eyes, fear evident in his eyes, mouthing silent words that he would never learn their meaning. Without conscious thought he reached forward, guided by the irrational thought that if he could reach him, maybe the older man wouldn't die.

Yet, the moment ended, and before Natsu's eyes, Grumpy burst into a bunch of polygons, dead for all intents and purposes. There were several frightening cries around him, maybe even he cried, he was not too sure. He could only replay the scene of Grumpy looking frightened just before he ceased to exist.

He saw death before, not many times, but he did see players die before him, most recently on the 25th floor, but never like this. Never before he was so close to them, to see the realization that they were going to die and knowing he was just a moment away from being able to protect them.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed that the skeleton that killed Grumpy step toward him, sword raised to strike. Seeing that, something snapped inside him. He was faintly aware he was the one shouting as he rushed forward, his strongest sword skills, sharp nail already initiated. Then it became somewhat of a blur. He knew he attacked the skeleton with abandon, more like a berserker than his usual cautious, quick-footed approach.

By the time he was aware of the world around him once more, all the skeletons disappeared and he was leaning on his blade, head bowed, exhaustion clear. Even though his body was nothing more than data, his throat felt sore and there was deep tiredness in his body. A quick check of his health bar showed he was around 50 percent left of it.

"Natsu?" he almost flinched as the hand suddenly touched his shoulders. Looking up, he met the concerned face of Wedge who looked at him as if he was a wounded animal that he tried not to spook."Are you alright?" he asked softly and Natsu felt something wet on his face. Reaching up, he was surprised to find tears, he wasn't aware he was crying.

"I couldn't save him in time." he told Wedge in a hollow voice when he remembered the older teen still standing worriedly at his side.

"I know." he said, giving a reassuring squeeze to his shoulder. It felt good to be reminded he wasn't alone, because right now he felt lost.

"I'm sorry." for this one Wedge had no answer, but in the end, it wasn't him that he intended words. They were meant for the one he couldn't reach in time, Grumpleshorken.

Natsu brushed the last of his tears away, before raising his head and looking over the others. Ian was on his knees, sobbing uncontrollably at the same place he saw him last, staring at the place where his friend died with an empty gaze. Basin was at his side, trying to console him, though he noticed him looking over him every so often to check on him too. Annabelle was also sobbing, holding onto Morgana with everything she had, the older woman also held a shocked expression on her face. Fives was trying to hold back his tears, without much success, while Roger looked so tired, he appeared even older as he tried to reassure the young boy. Biggs's face could have been carved from stone as he stood behind everyone and kept an eye out for any more surprises.

"How horrible." commented Wedge in a low voice as he looked in the direction the older man died."We can adapt, we can even thrive in this world all we want, but events like these remind us what this really is. A death game." he had an angry look on his face, his fist clenched tight."Damn you, Kayaba." Natsu remained silent as he sheathed his sword and the two walked back to the others, his mind racing now that he was calming down.

"I don't understand." said Roger as he noticed them reaching them. Except for Ian who seemed lost in his grief, everyone looked over.

"What do you mean?" Basil asked gently.

"Well, usually these skeletons only attack with two maybe three of them at the same time, so how come they ganged up on him?" he explained, his face more haggard by the second. "Grumpy...he was no slouch. Even if they ambushed him, he should have been easily able to keep them off him and call for help, but instead, he had been just laying there helplessly." both Ian and Annabelle increased their sobbing at his words, and Fives looked like he would collapse anytime, prompting Basil to place a steady hand on the young boy's shoulders.

"Paralysis. He was affected by the debuff, paralysis, probably just at the start of the battle. With him practically defenseless, he didn't have time to cry for help." answered Natsu, a sour taste in his mouth as his mind arrived at the very conclusion he didn't want to. By the way, Wedge's face darkened, he realized the very same thing he did.

"Mob PK?" he hissed, more to himself as his hold on his sword reflexively tightened.

"What?" asked Morgana with furrowed brows, either unfamiliar with the gaming term or not understanding the situation. Meanwhile, Fives began to tremble almost uncontrollably, prompting Basil to place a hand around him, trying to offer some comfort.

"Paralysis and other debuff are extremely dangerous for solo and groups with few players, it's easy to get overwhelmed if one is not careful enough. That's why most players share information on most things we encounter on the front lines. Add to that, we have been frequenting this dungeon for a few weeks, aware of most attacks these mobs have and their abilities." Natsu explained, frowning heavily as he steadfastly looked at the ground in front of him, not wanting to meet anyone's eyes."There is no way these skeletons were able to cause paralysis." he admitted and he heard several horrified gasps at the revelation.

The realization was not an easy thing to swallow. In gaming terms, mob PK meant that other players purposely led stronger enemies to a weaker player and indirectly used them to defeat the player. In a game where there was a PVP element in it, it was an unavoidable part, but this was never just a simple game. Their lives were the only ones they had, if they died it would all amount to nothing. What was the point of such senseless killing?

Most probably the PKer had a weapon that could cause paralysis, maybe through some type of poison? That was more common than weapons with paralysis property. They got the drop on Grumpy, before luring the monster on him, who per their basic programming went after the defenseless, easier prey. It made him sick, the thought of people killing each other, he didn't understand what could they gain.

"It's the most probable explanation." Wedge agreed, a dark look in his eyes as he looked around as if expecting the mysterious PKer to jump out and proclaim his deeds. "In the last few weeks, a worryingly large amount of PKs happened, though mostly centered on power floors." he frowned as he suddenly remembered something."One of our guildmates is looking into it, and as far as I knew, this is the first time since something like this on a frontline floor."

"What?" cried out Natsu incredulously, snapping his head at Wedge along with Basil, neither of hearing anything about this before. Wedge actually looked chastised as he realized he was speaking out loud and he let something important slip. "This is the first time I heard about this!" the brown-haired kid said, an angry frown on his face.

"Buzz and Agil didn't want to worry you guys." he explained, but even he winced as the normally calm and reasonable Natsu's frown deepened."Buzz is currently working with Argo about looking into it more deeply since the last thing the frontline needs right now is a wave of PK related crimes disrupting things further."

"And just why did you think it was smart to keep us in the dark?" Natsu demanded hotly, glaring at the older teen, until Basil stepped next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Please, calm down." he pleaded."This is not the time to be at each other's throats." he then sent a look to Wedge, resolution clear in his eyes."Though I will also gladly listen to your reasons for this after we get out of here in one piece."

"Why?" the grief-stricken voice of Ian snapped them out of their debate. The young man looked up at them with a hollow look on his face, not even bothering to get up from the ground. "Why would someone do this? What could they gain from it?" he asked, desperate for an answer, but no one could give him an honest answer, instead, they looked away, empathizing with him.

In the end, it was Roger who knelt down next to the formerly smiling teen, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.

"The sad thing, that sometimes there is no reason that. There are such horrible people in this world and even in this game, that they simply do it for the sake of doing it." he said, his shoulders slumping tiredly.

"I don't want this." Annabelle cried out of nowhere, tearing herself away from Morgana, who looked taken aback by the girl. She was hugging herself, tears poured down her face as she looked around with wide, panicked eyes. She was on the verge of a panic attack and that made all of them, save for Ian who once again descended into himself take a step back, not wanting to panic her further."This is insane. I never wanted this. I don't want to die, not for stupid reasons like these! I want to go home." her sobs increased as she fully lost it."I want to go home, worry about school, about mom not making enough money. I don't want to die here, I want to go home!"

"Annie..." Fives said softly, reaching out to her, trying to calm her down. Likewise, Morgana also stepped closer to her.

"Leave me alone!" she cried out, slapping away the outstretched hand of the former, before suddenly bolting forward, running away from them.

"No." cried out Basil in warning as she ran past him, too surprised to catch her in time.

"What are you doing?" Roger cried out, shocked.

"Wait, it's dangerous!" warned Wedge as he began to run after her, the others quickly following.

Natsu was shaken by the sudden action by the previously timid Annabelle, but quickly shook himself out of it, and put his stats to great use, overtaking even Wedge as he ran toward the panicking girl.

They were at the end of the corridor, just before an intersection, when Natsu sensed something. He was not sure, he didn't see, didn't hear anything. The corridor was empty save for them, no monsters, and even the basic use of searching skill didn't reveal amiss and out of their group he had one of the higher skill levels in this skill, though it did not guarantee that there wasn't anyone with better hiding skills.

Acting on the instinct that saved his life countless times, Natsu tackled the young girl, eliciting a surprised yelp from her. He was just in time, as he grabbed Annabelle he felt the wind generated by a sword lash just a few centimeters from above his head and the soft curse of their attacker as they apparently missed the young kids.

He used his body to shield her, as he forced them to roll away from their attacker, landing on one knee, the still form of Annabelle pulled close to him as he pulled out his blade and held it out in defense.

They were in the middle of the intersection, facing down the mysterious PKer. As he got a good look at them, he noted the dark cloak that helped her hide quite easily in the dark labyrinth and what looked like a tall, feminine shape. He also noticed the curved sword glinting in the faint light that almost took both his and Annabelle's heads a few seconds ago. He had little doubt that it was coated with some type of poison.

Their attacker looked at them for a moment, before suddenly jumping away, the flash of Wedge's linear skill rushing past where they had been a moment ago.

"Damn it." the older teen cursed as he only managed to nick the edge of their cloak. "Stay still." he said as he raised his rapier, the sword already shining with a sword skill ready to launch in an instant.

In short order, the others caught up, and by the time Natsu stood up properly, Basil was already in front of him, shield raised to block any sudden attack. For a moment the brown-haired teen thought to leave Anabelle to his friend, but the trembling form of the girl as she clutched into him as if she was drowning convinced to stay put for the time being. With a quick look passing between them, Basil gave a firm nod, both of them turning their attention to the attacker who was not in any hurry to leave, despite being severely outnumbered.

They were in the middle of an intersection, with Natsu, Basil, and Annabelle on one side, Wedge, Roger, and the others opposite of them. The player that almost beheaded Natsu stood between them with a corridor at her back, an easy escape route they could use any minute. They had a relaxed, uncaring stance and a lazy smile could be seen under the hood of their black cloak.

"Just who do you think you are?" growled Roger, mace raised threateningly. He was about to step closer, but a simple look from Wedge stopped him in his tracks. They needed to keep their heads cool, or it could easily end badly. They already lost one of their group, they couldn't afford any other.

"Me?" she asked in a haughty voice as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "I'm just a lonely little girl, playing around." she said with a mock innocent tone.

"Why are you doing this?" Natsu asked in a soft voice, his eyes narrowed as he scrutinized her. For some reason, her voice seemed familiar to him, but no matter how much he was racking his brain he couldn't tell where he heard it before."What's the point of killing other players?" he asked the question that nagged him the most. He just couldn't, for the life of him, why would any people want to kill others, lowering their chances of getting out of the game.

A soft giggle escaped the cloaked attacker at the question, which soon turned into full-blown laughter. Almost everyone wore an uneasy expression at that, feeling even more on edge. It didn't help that because they focused on her form, they could see an orange cursor in the place of the usual green one. It meant that she probably attacked and maybe even killed players before, marking her as a 'criminal' in the eyes of most of the players.

"Why you asked?" she asked with a sweet voice after she calmed down. "To play, of course." she extended her arms to the side, and a maniacal smile appeared on what little could be seen of her face."What's the point of being in a game if you don't play? And everyone game needs a proper villain after all PVP is an essential part of games like this."

"You are sick!" declared Wedge as he gripped his sword tighter, only Biggs's hand on his shoulder stopping him from dashing forward and attacking recklessly.

The others had similar reactions. Fives was horrified and used the large form of Biggs to practically hide from the crazy woman, shaking like a leaf. Roger and Natsu wore disgusted expression, while Basil simply faced her down with a hard look on his face.

"We will stop you." the blonde-haired teen said in a resolute voice, showing no hesitation as he regarded her. The cloaked woman in response only began to once again laugh to herself.

"Well, feel free to try, I was getting a little bored here." she told Basil with a smile that told them she knew something they didn't. "But don't you have somewhere else to be?" she asked in mock-confusion.

Natsu narrowed his eyes at her cryptic words and felt his attention wander over the others, wondering if anyone understood what she was talking about. It took for a moment for him to notice something amiss and it dawned on him what she meant. With a pale face, he called out to the others, hoping he was wrong.

"Where is Ian?" he asked, prompted to others to look around in shock, trying to find the young man.

"Ian!" cried out Roger, hoping he was just lagging behind, instead of something happening to him.

"Don't tell me, he stayed back where we came from?" asked Wedge in disbelief, also taking his eyes off the cloaked woman. The soft sounds of steps made him look back, but by that time they looked back, she disappeared from view. Gritting his teeth, he told the others."Let's get to Ian, quickly, but don't under any circumstance separate." he ordered before he began to lead them back.

Natsu, as well as Basil, dashed forward after they passed the still too shaken to react Annabelle to Roger, quickly joining the others in sprinting back to the corridor where Grumpy died and where Ian most likely remained. Thankfully they weren't very far and the monsters in the way had yet to respawn, which wasn't a surprise if they slowed down and thought about it. Despite the whirlwind of events that they just went through it couldn't have been more than ten minutes since Grumpy's death.

Still, Natsu and others didn't let up and ran as fast as they could. Natsu gritted his teeth, urging himself to go faster. He already failed saving one comrade, he didn't plan on being too late to save another one. He did his best to lock away his turbulent emotions, concentrating on the matter at hand. He was pretty sure he will be an awful wreck when, and not if, they finally get out, but until then he had to keep it together.

No matter how tempting it sounded to break down and act like a terrified kid his age.

But unfortunately, no matter how fast they ran, in the end, they didn't make it in time. Natsu, Basil, and Wedge stopped in pure shock as they reached where they left Ian, Roger, Morgana just behind them, with Biggs herding and looking after Fives and Annabelle.

The light from the torches draw ominous shadows around Ian as he knelt on the ground, facing them, mouth opened in a silent cry. Behind him stood another cloaked figure, male from his shape and the cackling laugh he gave when he noticed them arriving, playing with a big dagger in his left hand. They could only meet Ian's desperate eyes, noticing the thin, red line going across his neck, before he burst into a bunch of pixels unceremoniously, the sound of shattering filling their eyes, signaling his death.

"No way!" Wedge breathed out, horror clear on his face.

"How horrible." Morgana gasped out, placing a hand before her mouth.

"Ian!" Roger cried out in shock, his body slightly trembling.

The others reacted similarly, save for Basil who only watched the scene with a grim expression on his face, before subtly tilting his head and looking at Natsu who after a moment caught his eye. He gave the Italian a firm nod, a similar expression replacing the shock.

Ian's executioner stayed in the same spot, looking at them, in no particular hurry. He wore a similar cloak to the woman they encountered and from the way he stood, they saw he wore some kind of leather armor. He was short, maybe around the height of Natsu and he had a smug, cocky air about him. He was throwing his dagger, up and down, catching it at the last moment, all the while he was grinning at them.

"You guys are here to play too? And here I thought it was gonna be boring." he asked them a toothy grin, enjoying their horrified looks."More the merrier, my departed grandma used to say., although..." he suddenly caught his weapon before jumping back, just avoiding the pair of diagonals sent by Natsu and Basil in perfect unison. "I didn't say you can start, yet." he laughed to himself as he slowly backed away, from the two young members of the keepers of the seven rings.

"This is not a game. It never was." said Natsu with gritted teeth and was ready to pursue when Wedge's voice stopped both him and Basil in their tracks.

"Stop! Don't go after him." Wedge called out, the others looking at him in surprise. By his posture, it was certain to everyone he would love nothing more than go after the guy himself, but he was holding himself back."We have to stay together. Up until now, they had kept us off-balance, we have been playing their game. They only came after us when we were separated. If we want any hope of getting out in one piece we have to stop and think." he urged them with a severe expression.

"But, still..." Natsu trailed off, still angry, but seeing the Wedge's point. It didn't mean he had to like it.

Wedge's eyes softened momentarily, looking at the young teen before him.

"I understand, Natsu. But we aren't alone in this, we have to think as a group." he warned and in the end, the brown-haired teen gave a nod of agreement.

Looking back Natsu noted that the man who killed Ian disappeared, using their distraction to get away. His shoulders dropping, he felt the anger as quickly evaporate as it came, leaving him with crushing sadness. Taking in his comrades, he saw all of them looked similar. Annabelle no longer cried but she simply sat on the ground, a still trembling Fives' arms around her, hopeless. Morgana was leaning n her spear, head bowed, her hair obscuring her face. Roger was leaning on a wall, deep in thought. Wedge and Basil were both tense, repeatedly looking around to make sure no monster could sneak up on them, not letting themselves think on what happened just yet, while Biggs was the one who looked the calmest out of all of them, keeping an eye on the younger kids, almost physically shielding them from the world.

An eerie silence descended on them as they all calmed down and processed what happened in the last few minutes. Still, it wasn't really the time to grieve. They weren't out of the woods yet so to speak, with the two, possibly even more orange players after them, hunting them like it was a game.

"Grumpy and Ian." Roger spoke up with a tired, hollow voice. "They're really dead." he admitted, the facts only hitting home now. Natsu looked away, furiously blinking as he also needed to face this truth.

"Yes, they are." Wedge agreed with a sigh, closing his menu, looking unsure for the first time since they arrived at the labyrinth."Still no map." he told them before he began to think on the next step.

"Then what should we do?" asked Morgana in a soft voice, but no one had a definite answer to her. It was clear they couldn't stay in one place for long, with the monsters respawning any minute, the cloaked players lurking around looking for weaknesses and their own lowered morale, it would be suicide. They had to move on, but the question was where? They were nowhere closer to getting out of the labyrinth.

"First of all, we have to get Annabelle and Fives out of here." Natsu declared after sharing a significant look with Basil, walking toward the two terrified kids. At the back of his mind, a small part of him found it hilarious that he referred them as kids when they were the same age. But it was true in a manner of speaking. Even though they were the same age, Basil, Ken and he grew up in a manner of speaking, to handle the burden of fighting at the frontline. They needed the ability to stay calm whatever happened, to be able to react to any sudden changes in the middle of a fight.

"You mean the teleport crystals?" Morgana asked with a furrowed brow, looking displeased for a moment before the expression disappeared from her face.

"Yes." he nodded as he pulled out his own teleport crystal, while Basil did the same. His eyes were resolute, and Wedge closed his mouth before he could say anything. Natsu was most of the time pretty easy-going, content to let others lead, but there were a few times he stepped up and used his position as a guild leader to the fullest. When he got like this, it was simply not possible to deter him without really good reasons. And the older teen was very aware if they disregarded their age and his self-proclaimed duty to look after them, Basil and Natsu were very capable fighters and it would be more useful if they stayed if they wanted to get everyone out in the end.

It did not mean he had to like it. At all.

"But where should we go?" Fives asked uncertainly as he accepted the crystal from Basil, while Natsu handed it to Annabelle who clutched it into her chest while murmuring her thanks.

"Giltstein, the main city on the 25th floor." Natsu said without a moment of hesitation, ignoring the confused looks he got from them."Inside the safe zone, you could easily find the headquarters of the Knights of the Blood-Oath. When you arrive ask for Asuna, tell them that I sent you, and explain what happened so others won't walk into this trap blindly." he said, gaining a slightly confident nod from Fives. When he saw it, Natsu let a smile appear on his face, giving the young boy's shoulder a squeeze."Everything will be alright." he promised.

"The KOB HQ?" asked Wedge with a surprised expression. It was no secret, while Natsu liked and looked up to some extent to Asuna, he didn't like the leader of the guild, Heathcliff.

"It makes sense. We could easily get to them, after we get out of here, while Asuna could look after them until that time." explained Natsu, looking up, meeting the older teen's eyes."We will also need to get the word out, make other parties in the frontline more cautious because PKers even appeared here. Aside from Argo, the only way to quickly inform the rest of the clearing group is to talk with the KOB, since they are more frequently in contact with most of them than us."

"That makes sense. You must have thought about that a lot." Wedge admitted before a sly smile appeared on his face. "But admit it, the real reason you are sending them there is so you can visit your Big Sister Asuna." he said, bringing a slight air of levity to the tense atmosphere.

The others showed small smiles at his attempt at humor, something they desperately needed, especially when Natsu's serious composure crumbled with a large blush as he looked at Wedge as if he slapped him.

"Th-That's not it." he protested, but because of his initial reaction, there was no convincing the others of that. "Thanks to Asuna basically leading boss meetings, she can easily get the word out to others. And why are you guys always call her my big sister? We are not that alike." he complained, his over the top reaction even coaxing out a small giggle from Annabelle.

"Similar hair color, similar eyes, you guys even have similar builds." pointed out Wedge with a grin, counting the similarities with his fingers. Natsu's head dropped comically at each point, much to the others' amusement.

"Not to mention, the way she acts with you as if she was either your mother or big sister." explained Basil with a completely straight face, causing Wedge to lose his battle against the laughter that was intent on escaping and began to laugh with abandon.

"You too, Basil?" Natsu pouted at what he saw as a betrayal, while the blonde young teen only gave a small, earnest smile in response.

They soon calmed down, all of them feeling a touch lighter thanks to the little lighthearted pause in their grim reality. As he calmed down, Fives turned toward Roger who watched the whole thing with a grim expression, through there was a little softness in his eyes.

"Roger?" he asked softly, clearly asking for his opinion.

The older man sighed to himself once, before stepping away from the wall, closer to Fives, and looked at him.

"I think what they said makes sense." he told him, gesturing to Wedge and Natsu."Use the crystals and stay safe. We will join you as soon as we can." Roger said, affectionately ruffling the young boy's hair.

"O-okay." he agreed, wiping away a few stray tears from his eyes, before helping Annabelle up. He looked at the others one last time. "Please, don't die." he pleaded but knew they can't promise anything like that.

"Teleport, Giltstein." the two young kids cried out, soon disappearing in individual pillars of blue light.

As the light faded away Natsu felt his shoulder drop with relief. It was better for them to be away from the danger and also they could reach their friends and inform them of what happened. A quick check of the clock in the corner of his vision confirmed it was past 4 in the afternoon, doubtless, Agil, and the others were getting worried.

The previous atmosphere disappeared along with Fives and Annabelle. Looking around, Natsu met the eyes of the others. Morgana looked worried while Roger had a quiet steadiness to him. Though the man obviously was bothered by the death of two of his friends, he was able to push through that. Biggs and Wedge were talking quietly with each other, either comforting the other or talking about a plan, while Basil was keeping a lookout, looking a little antsy, ready to leave this place behind

"So what now?" Roger asked after a moment of silence from Wedge who stopped whispering with his brother.

"We do what we did until now." he said, walking next to Natsu, with a quick look asking if he had anything else in mind. After a quick shake of his head, the older teen elaborated."We will move slowly, trying to find either a way to regain our maps' functionality or get lucky and find the way out. At least I would like to find a safe zone, where we could rest a little easier."

"We should be cautious." added Natsu, a thoughtful look on his face."We don't know for sure how many orange players are here if they have access to the map unlike us or not. We find anything suspicious, out of place, don't ignore it." he said before a light blush appeared on his face and looked away when he noticed everyone looking at him.

"You're right." Wedge nodded, giving an affectionate pat to the younger teen's head. "The only advantage they had up until now was that they were able to separate us. No need to be cocky, but as long as we do nothing stupid we will be fine." he assured the others with a gentle smile.

With a last look to the corridor where both Grumpy and Ian died, they soon set out, intent on getting away and finding a way out. Natsu and Basil walked in front, Roger and Morgana in the middle, while Biggs and Wedge acted as rearguards. They rarely spoke even as they met many dead ends, made a lot of circles in the labyrinth. Unfortunately, the monsters didn't stop respawning, and after a lot of fighting all of them were more than ready to get out of here.

That is not to say they were not making any progress. Wedge and Basil somehow were able to devise a system to know which routes they took before and which they had yet to see where they lead. Without the ability to interact with their surroundings to leave signs for themselves, it was far from infallible, but it had been an hour since the last time they ended up in the large arena where they encountered Illfang. It looked like they ventured even deeper into the labyrinth, the walls changing to a foreboding black with various bones decorating it. Even the torches were now held by skeleton hands, increasing the creepy atmosphere around them.

"This place more and more unsettling the more we go on." mumbled Basil to himself as he avoided a man-sized spider-web hanging from a corner.

"Try to think positively. If this setup is any indication of the boss, it would easily belong to a horror movie." Wedge joked for the back."With our luck maybe we will even find the boss room while trying to find a way out."

"It's not out of the realm of possibilities." Natsu agreed with an absent nod as he surveyed the dark corridor before them."The way the monsters are becoming slightly stronger and more aggressive and the changes in surrounding we may be on the right track to the boss room."

"Even if we find it, it would be pointless to try and challenge it by ourselves." Wedge pointed out, before sending a stern glare at Natsu, though there was a slight smile on his face."Alright, Natsu?"

"Why would you think I would do something like that?" he immediately protested.

Wedge and Basil sent him dry looks, while Biggs coughed under his breath, though it suspiciously sounded like the 5th floor, and before long his shoulders slumped as he realized all of them thought the same thing.

"I'm not that reckless." he said, but he also sounded like he accepted he couldn't change their opinions. Roger and Morgana looked at them, confused by the byplay.

"You are." the three of them agreed as one.

"How can you act so carefree? Don't you realize how serious this matter is?" accused Roger them with a big frown, causing them to fall silent and look at him a little uncertainly.

"That' not it, Roger." Wedge protested, holding up his hands in defense."It's not that we don't realize how serious things are or we don't care, but we've been at the frontline for a long time. If you are too tense, you will only make mistakes." he explained, though Roger frown didn't lessen.

"We spent most of our time spent here in this game in the very heart of the fight, on the frontline." Basil decided to add in his thoughts as well."After a while, it wears on you, so we needed something to take our minds off when the situations are tense, hard to think. A moment of levity most of the time helps, so we could notice and think of things we otherwise wouldn't.

"It''s a bit like a coping mechanism. We are fooling around, but it helps with long times spent in dungeons and does wonders for morale. We have been like this since a long while ago, so even if we laugh and joke we are not any less alert." said Natsu, adding a small smile at the end. Roger did not look very convinced, but his frown disappeared and he seemed to let the matter go.

"Or it's more like because we spend way too much with Argo and Buzz." deadpanned Wedge, with Natsu and Basil unsuccessfully trying to muffle their laughter.

After that they once again descended into, broken by the occasional monster they encountered. They stopped several times when they heard suspicious sounds, or saw something from the corner of their eyes. All those seemed to be nothing more than their imaginations, at least as far as they know.

"It really is nerve-wracking. We are not even sure if those people are still here if they watching us or even planning an ambush. What can we do?" asked Morgana suddenly, clutching her spear to herself, looking around anxiously.

"We can't do much save for being cautious." said Wedge as he looked back to the corridor they left, feeling as if something moved within the shadows."These guys have some serious skills in hiding, making it harder to notice them in time." Natsu nodded in agreement. He couldn't see them with simply notice them with the search skill, he was only able to act thanks to his finely honed instincts. It was a hit of hit and miss if he would be able to act in time if they were attacked again.

"But their greatest strength lies in forcing us to fight on their terms, making us off-balance." Basil said in a serious tone, keeping a keen eye on the path forward.

"You just had to say it, didn't you?" Natsu asked with a quiet groan as he noticed what lay before them. The path they followed until now branched to two different corridors. What Natsu found strange about that, both paths seemed to lead in the same direction, lying parallel to each other. So, what do you think, creepy hallway one or creepy hallway two?" he asked with an impish smile, making Wedge scoff, though he was definitely holding back a laugh.

"Really?" he asks, but he lets it go as he walks closer to the two corridors, inspecting them. "I reckon we are close to finding the boss room." he adds with a rueful smile."But which way to go?"

"We could just form two groups and investigate separately." offered up Morgana, who was walking around the room they ended up and tried to find anything that could offer a clue. Unfortunately, there was little in there save for a couple of torches, bones decorating the walls, and a couple of skulls sitting abandoned on the ground.

"Wouldn't it mean we would work into the hands of the players who killed Grumpy and Ian?" Roger asked in a gruff tone, sending a harsh glance to Morgana who immediately backed down with an apologetic wince.

"It's not such a bad idea if we do it with a bit of ingenuity." Wedge said, thinking out loud with a hand on his chin. When the others looked at him in question with a shrug he explained."Instead of forming two groups, we should form three groups of two. Two groups could slowly and cautiously move forward at the two paths, while the third one remains here to guard so the orange players could not sneak up on us. The two groups move forward to the first intersection or until they find something worth noting then came back here, so we can form a plan of how to move forward." the others nodded to his words, impressed by the thought put into it.

"That could work." Basil agreed with a nod."If we make sure not to stray too far if one group gets attacked, the others could quickly come to their aid."

"It's...not such a bad idea." Roger agreed though he was clearly on the fence about the whole thing."If we do this, how would we make the teams?" he wondered.

"I have an idea." said Natsu, opening a window in front of himself, checking on something. "How about Basil and Roger take the right path, while Morgana and I take the left one?" he asked, gaining curious looks from the others."Wedge and Biggs are a great idea to leave behind since their teamwork is one where it is almost impossible to get past them. I worked a lot with another spear user, so I could easily coordinate with Morgana, while Roger and Basil could easily hold up until help arrives if they run into any trouble." he explained. As he talked, Wedge noticed something at the edge of his vision, narrowing his eyes and giving a brisk nod to Natsu who was watching him from the corner of his eyes, before his face smoothed out, none other wiser to the small exchange.

"That does sound good." he agreed with a nod, before turning to his brother."What do you think?" Biggs gave his agreement with a thumbs up to Natsu.

"I don't have any objection." Roger said after he took a moment to think things through. Basil also nodded in agreement.

"Then I'll be under your care." Morgana said demurely, giving Natsu a brief bow.

"I as well." he said, returning the bow.

"All right, people." Wedge spoke up, gathering their attention. "We have a plan, so let's make it into a reality. Don't be overconfident, be cautious, and most importantly, stay safe." he told them.

"Always." Natsu and Basil answered as one, sharing a smile.

Soon the two groups began to walk, leaving Natsu with Morgana, who walked behind him, spear at the ready. They didn't talk, Morgana too anxious, Natsu busy with looking out for any hidden traps or the orange player lurking around.

It had been around ten minutes since they started and they found nothing, but a long, eerily silent corridor with torches giving some light after every few feet. They found no traps, no orange players, and surprisingly not even monsters. He wasn't sure if the last thing was good or bad. Either they found their way to a safe zone, or they walk into a very nasty trap.

"Natsu-kun, I didn't say it before, but I find it remarkable that you can fit so well in the frontline despite your age." Morgana told him conservatively, trying to keep the atmosphere light. "In your place, I think I would have been too terrified to leave the first floor, yet here you are, one of the most well-known high-level players. It's really admirable." she admitted with a nervous chuckle.

"That's not how I see it." he admitted quietly, though he kept his eyes front, alert all the same."For me, I think it would be a lot more terrifying to stay in a city and just wait for a miracle. I couldn't do that without worry driving me mad. Fighting in the frontlines, every day getting just a little closer to the end, step by step gives me proof. Proof, that even trapped in this game, I am here. I alive and most importantly, I live."

The blonde woman seemed taken aback by his heartfelt words. After a few moments she opened her mouth to say something, but she was silenced when Natsu held up his hand, stopping them from walking forward. He was looking ahead intently, using the search skill. In his vision, a small figure was highlighted with faint green at the end of the corridor, maybe a hundred or so feet away from them.

"Someone is ahead, at the end of the corridor." he informed her, looking ahead with narrowed eyes."They are not hiding, but not moving either. As if waiting for us."

"If it was one of the orange players, surely they would have hidden." protested Morgana, not seeing the point in being so cautious."Maybe we weren't their only targets or someone trapped down here just like us without access to maps. Maybe whoever they have a way out. We should go and see for ourselves." she told him and without waiting for him began to walk toward the figure, making Natsu sigh tiredly before following her. He did not like this whole thing.

He soon caught up to her and took his place at the front. Before long they reached the end of the corridor, stepping into a large hall, that left both of them breathless. But it was not because of beauty, more like fright.

The hall was massive, skeletons of various sizes and origins that seemed to suffer covered the walls. It looked as if the very walls were built around their very beings. Some of them even reached out of their prison, trying to ensure every unsuspecting traveler. Unlike the rest of the labyrinth, the four torches standing in the corners gave a faint blue light. In this light, the skeletons seemed to be slowly moving, but Natsu was really hoping it was his overactive imagination making him think that.

But it was the door at the end of the hall that made them stop and stare. It was without a doubt the boss room, that led to the 27th floor boss of Aincrad. It was a massive double door, and like all the others it contained an engraving, mostly giving clues about the boss that awaited behind them. What made especially Natsu froze in shock was the doors depicted the skeleton form of a very familiar two-headed giant.

"Ettin." he murmured the name of the 25th floor boss in horror.

It took him a minute to get over his shock, though a part of him was not so surprised. After all, he encountered a skeletal Illfang and reusing the stronger than most 25th-floor boss so soon was the kind of thing that he believed Kayaba Akihiko capable of. It was very sick humor.

As he got over the shock of the thought of once again facing the giant that killed so many players, and he knew he was not the only one among the cleaners to feel that way, he quickly noticed two glaring things. First, the doors that led to the boos were open wide, showing a similar hall looming behind them, the end of the room lost in darkness. The second was a comparatively small figure standing before the doors, showing their back to the two players.

The large, black coat hiding most of their body and the bright orange cursor above their head quickly clued them to who the figure could possibly be. Especially the curved sword at her side as she turned around to face them, giggling to herself, made Natsu recognize the woman who almost killed him and Annabelle.

"You." he growled in a low voice, his sword rising to his eye level, ready to fight.

"The little fly finally flew into the trap." she gave a mocking grin to the young boy, waving to him with her sword."It's time for the best part of the game. The ending." at the end, her tone gained a dark edge.

"Game? What are you talking about? This is not a game! You killed people." Natsu shouted in uncharacteristic anger, surprising even himself.

"Natsu-kun, please calm down." murmured Morgana behind him, but for some reason, a part of Natsu thought something sounded off in her voice.

"Well of course we killed people." the cloaked woman cooed, talking like he would to a small child. "After all, that is the game. I'm the predator and you are the helpless little fly who tries to defy me but dies in the end." she explained, still giggling to herself.

"Why?" he asked, really perplexed. Maybe he was naive, but he couldn't see the point of killing other people.

"Because it's fun, why else? After all, it's just a game." with that childish logic she seemed to take the talk with each other finished.

Natsu gritted his teeth, disturbed the lack of...sanity from the woman, feeling on the edge. Whatever her game was, it could happen any moment now. Seeing his reaction, the woman laughed to herself, before she lifted a hand to her hood.

"Like every good game this will have to end, but as my prey who was able to avoid my trap the first time, II will reward you with my name." she said as he pulled the hood down, showing a fair face with high cheekbones, grey eyes that held a wicked gleam and curly black hair that fell to her shoulders in waves. "I am Arachne, and you, my little fly will be my prey." she declared with a demented smile on her face.

Natsu stood there, frozen in horror as he looked at Arachne. save for the hair and the wicked look in her eyes, her face was a very familiar one. Alarmingly familiar, a face he has seen just a few moments ago. His eyes widened as he understood a few things that bugged him, Morgana and Arachne looked just the same.

He sensed the danger, but he was too late in reacting. He felt the attack coming from behind him, was able to turn his body sideways, preparing to jump away. He saw the wide, frenzied grin at Morgana's face as she thrust forward her spear and before long his eyesight was obscured by a punch of red pixels. His blood.


	10. Level 10 Mystery in the labyrinth part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here is the third and last part of the labyrinth adventure

**Level 10: Mysteries of the labyrinth part 3**

Roger and Basil walked side by side in the narrow tunnel, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. Neither chose to speak, the former too tense for any kind of small talk, while the Italian teen was used to the silence. Usually, Wedge and Ken would fill the silence with more than enough chatter, letting him keep silent. It was a system that suited everyone.

"When I get my hands on those two, there will be no escaping from me." Roger grumbled angrily to himself, breaking the silence between them. He seemed to disregard Basil's presence, so focused on revenge.

Basil kept silent, not sure how to approach the older man. Unfortunately because of his training by Natsu's father, it left him socially inept in most situations. Though in time he found a way to interact with Natsu and other members of their guild when it comes to new people he preferred that the others took lead. Nonetheless, He could understand Roger's desire to avenge his friends, but what they needed right now was a clear head.

"Well, I was almost getting bored here." a crackling voice surprised both of them, as a figure stepped out of the shadows in front of them. It was one of the pkers, the male who was grinning at them broadly, pointing his little larger than normal dagger at them. As he focused on it, Basil noticed its edge was serrated, giving it a menacing look in the faint torchlight. "Lucky for me, seems our players finally arrived." he laughed to himself as he stood before them without a care in the world.

Roger was ready to dash forward, but Basil held him back, staring at the cloaked man before them in suspicion. The corridor was narrow, if they started to fight here, only one of them could fight at a time, especially since both of them were shield users, limiting them in their movements. On the other hand, the orange player was definitely fast and no doubt skilled at using that dagger of his, not to mention his skill at hiding. It would be ill-advised to attack recklessly.

It didn't sit well with him this sudden change in tactics. He let himself look to the edge of his vision for a moment, confirming that all of his friends had their health bar full. That meant the others weren't ambushed, or at least hadn't begun fighting yet.

Still, instead of stalking them from the shadows, they chose to appear in front of them, confronting them head-on. There must be a reason if they chose to disregard their previous approach. Maybe they had some kind of trap waiting for them, or with two of them dead and the other two leaving they finally felt confident to attack without the cloak and dagger stuff? Maybe this guy was simply reckless, disregarding his partner's plan, and made his move too soon. There were too many possibilities and he didn't have time to figure it out. It took almost everything he had to keep Roger from attacking and playing into their hands.

"What are you playing at?" he hissed, nervously looking around, trying to spot whatever trap that they prepared for them.

Their attacker only smirked at them, before he pointed his dagger at them.

"The name of the game" he declared with a maniac laugh. "Don't die too soon." he declared as he rushed at them.

-0-

"As expected of the famous Orange Blaze." Morgana praised Natsu as she twirled her spear carelessly, a cruel smirk on her face. "Anyone else and it would have been an instant kill, but you had such reflexes that you avoided my attack." her smirk widened as she leered down at him."Well, almost."

Natsu laid on the ground not too far from her and her twin, the orange player Arachne. A small red line was on his right cheek, where Morgan's spear grazed him. He was able to move in time, rolling away from most of the attack. He quietly cursed himself for being so careless. Ever since he met her he got a strange vibe from Morgana, though he chose to ignore it for the sake of concentrating on their current problem. Now, he was paying dearly for ignoring his instincts.

The damage that was dealt to him was minimal, not even making a noticeable dent in his hp gauge. What he found worrying was the small yellow paralysis icon just under it. That was strange in itself since they have been fighting together for a while and she didn't show the ability to cause paralysis. This ambush was planned and he had been caught completely unaware.

"Why?" he asked as he struggled to move his body, despite knowing how paralysis worked."Why are doing this? Why betray us?"

In response, Morgana began to giggle like a deranged little girl, while Arachne only looked on with a cold smile on her face.

"Is it betrayal if I planned to do this since the moment I met them?" the spear user who now had an orange symbol since she attacked him asked when she finally calmed down."Those naive idiots made it far too easy for me."

"It's nothing personal." her twin took over as she stopped in front of him, crouching down and smiling at him mockingly."But I wanted to make a proper initiation for my little sister. You on the other hand just got in the way."

"Initiation for what?" he asked, obviously stalling for time.

He noticed something behind the two women, his eyes widening in recognization. He subtly signaled with his eyes, thankfully the gesture went unnoticed by the two women who were busy mocking him

"Aren't you curious?" Arachne cooed at him with a deranged smile, enjoying the visible discomfort on Natsu's face."Don't you know that curiosity killed the cat?"

If he had the ability, Natsu would have turned his face in disgust, her touch making him feel uncomfortable and unclean as she began to pet his hair, her actions in stark contrast to her cruel words. Safe to say she was freaking him out.

"Does it matter, big sister?" Morgana asked after she stopped playing with her spear. "He is gonna die in the end after all. He is helpless and thanks to the item there is no help coming." as she laughed to herself, it was really hard for Natsu to reconcile the image of the Morgana he met earlier this day to this cruel person.

Arachne hummed for a moment before she suddenly let go of Natsu, stood, and delivered a back-handed slap to her sister, making the girl cry out in pain as she landed on the ground. She had one hand on her reddening cheeks as she looked up fearfully at her twin, tears gathering her eyes.

"B-Bis sister?" she whimpered as the form of Arachne stood over her menacingly.

"What are you an idiot?" she demanded as she glared down at Morgana."You were the one who led those idiots into that miniboss that almost took all of them out. And you had to activate the item you were provided with, involving four of the top players, complicating things needlessly. We are in this mess, because of you, you good for nothing." she cried out as she began to kick her sister without mercy, ignoring her cries.

Natsu closed his eyes, not wanting to see Morgana being beaten. Even if she betrayed them, he did not like seeing anyone suffer but he also knew that every second they wasted on this meant his chances of getting out alive grew.

"Please, Big Sister." Morgana pleaded as she curled up into fetal position. "I-I didn't have any choice if I wanted the plan to succeed. Please, stop, no more!" she cried out. Thankfully her sister seemed to calm down slightly as she stopped kicking her but she kept her glare up.

"You almost ruined everything, you worthless idiot." she seethed, though at least she didn't hurt her physically this time as she ran a hand through her long hair in frustration."Do you know why you were given the chance to join Laughing Coffin?" the name did not ring any bells for him, but Natsu marked it down as something important in his mind, in case he survived this."Because our leader thought after seeing my potential that if my sister could even show a little fraction of it, she could help our cause. But you are just as utterly worthless as always, aren't you? Even with the item that leader-sama himself created to shut down the map feature of these idiots, to cut them off from any help, you were still unable to do a few simple things."

Natsu couldn't help but gasp loudly at what he was hearing. Laughing Coffin, it must be some kind of group that these pkers belonged to. But more importantly, an item with the ability to shut down maps? That was unheard of, an item made solely for PKing something that could easily break the balance of the game itself.

Despite many people calling the game unfair, stacked against them, it wasn't true at all. It was hard, yes and there were a lot of dangers, a lot of traps but in the end, the game was balanced. It was not impossible to take down the bosses, to get out of various traps, wasn't easy by any means, but there was always a way. But this item that was able to disable the maps, something that was essential to all of the players, threatened to destroy that careful balance.

Unfortunately, his gasp gained the attention of Arachne who simply moved away from the whimpering form of her sister, and walked back to him with a wicked smile on her face. She placed the edge of her curved sword near his face, touching it without causing any damage. The cool feel of steel on his cheek made Natsu shudder, something that simply delighted the woman.

"Sorry to keep you waiting Natsu-kun. Unfortunately, the paralysis will still hold for a bit of time, so I guess you waited for nothing." she mocked him and Natsu cursed in his mind. Just like she said the paralysis icon was still shining bright under his health bar."You know I wanted to drag this out a little more. To make you suffer, break you down to the point you would beg for death." she told him with a blissful smile, blushing at the thought of what she wanted to do to him. It made him shudder in revulsion. "I pride myself on being a stealthy fighter you know. And seeing you avoid my attack so easily while I had all the advantages on my side, it makes me furious." she snarled at him in fury, before she took a breath, her face gained a tranquil look. She raised her sword, ready to end his life with a simple swing."But as I said, time is of the essence, so it's time we said goodbye to each other, Natsu-kun."

As the blade descended towards him, Natsu strained his body, trying to move with all his might. Despite how calm he looked outwardly he was scared, very scared. He didn't want to die, not here, not like this. He didn't want to cause grief to his friends, to his comrades. He wanted to keep fighting along with Ken, Basil, Wedge, Biggs, Buzz, Agil, Argo, Kirito, Klein, and Asuna. He wanted to beat the game with them, to see his mother once again. He didn't want to die. He wanted to live!

"I won't let you!" a voice roared just as Arachne was about to strike Natsu. Out of nowhere a shield with a large body attached to it slammed into the PKer, catching her completely unaware, sending her flying a few feet away.

"Big sister!" Morgana cried out as she hurriedly stood up, spear held in a defensive stance in front of her. "How dare you!" she snarled at the one who attacked her precious sister, standing in front of the still motionless Natsu, radiating a quiet fury of his own.

"Biggs." Natsu muttered the name of the large man with a relieved smile. He was afraid the gentle giant would not make it in time, but it seemed he was worried for nothing.

What a lot of people seemed to forget, that like earlier MMOs, SAO had its own version of text-based group-chat. Though it usually was only used between group members who got separated in a dungeon or something like that, it was still reliable and a lot faster than simple private messaging each other. Especially in a dungeon that disabled PMing outside. Roger and Morgana didn't join their group, choosing to remain in the one with the kids to monitor them to make sure they were alright, they didn't see him send a quick message to his friends while they talked about splitting up.

He asked Biggs and Wedge to tail the two groups from a distance, so both groups would have a back-up available in case they were attacked. But he never thought of being betrayed by one of the people they helped. That made him nervous, worrying about Basil and Wedge, not to mention his status.

"I-impossible!" Arachne shouted as she gingerly stood up, her face showing an ugly sneer as she stared at Biggs. "My searching skills are one of the largest in our guild, I can detect anyone, save for leader-sama! How could a lowlife like you sneak up on me?" she shrieked, waving around her hand in hysteria."Answer me, you waste of space!"

That wasn't true, though Natsu thought better of explaining it to her. The thing is, while both the search and hiding skills are very useful, there was one thing that limited their effectiveness. They were active skills. It meant if you wanted to use them, you needed to activate them, or they wouldn't do anything at all. You may have the skills to spot anyone coming from a mile away, but if you didn't pay attention and didn't activate the skill, it would be no use.

The basics of the game were something that Buzz made sure everyone knew by heart. Simply having a skill meant nothing if you couldn't use it when the moment called for it. SAO was a much more complicated game than anyone would have thought. Along with the skills, you had to use your senses, your instincts, and your judgment to the best of your abilities if you wanted to get through it in one piece.

"We trusted you." said Biggs in a dangerously low voice as he stared at Morgana who looked taken aback. Even Natsu's eyes widened at hearing the anger in the normally kind and reserved teen's voice. "But you chose to betray us, betray your comrades. You killed Ian and Grumpy, almost killed Natsu, hurt so many people, and for that," he straightened out, bellowing in a strong voice that caused the two women to reflexively step back in fear."I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!"

"Biggs..." Natsu whispered, surprised at his usually calmer friend. Though he shouldn't be. While among their group, Ken, Wedge and he were the hotheads of the group, even Biggs who liked spending his time in the garden would be horrified by what went down here. Morgana helped and aided in the murder of two of her comrades, something that any real player who fought in boss battles would condemn. After all, if the 25th floor taught them anything that they must be able to count on the one fighting next to them without a doubt. "Be careful. Their weapons carry poison one small graze and you are paralyzed." he advised before looking at his health bar in the corner of his vision, seeing the paralysis icon slowly blinking."Stay defensive. The poison in me soon will run its course and I can join to help."

Biggs only nodded in response to his words, his grip on his sword's handle tightening as he watched the two women standing in front of him over the rim of his shield.

"You won't forgive us?" Arachne asked back incredulously before she began to laugh in an insane manner, even her sister stepping away from her, looking at warily."Don't joke with me! I, the great Arachne-sama, subdivision leader of Laughing Coffin and one of his most devoted followers, would never lose to a nobody like you." she snarled, looking more like a wild animal as she hunched forward than an intelligent being."Know your place you cretin!" she roared as she charged forward, not even bothering to activate a sword skill, Morgana hurrying after her.

"Don't worry Natsu." Biggs gave Natsu a brief smile before he turned toward his attackers with a grim look. "I'll protect you." he declared before he charged forward as well.

Showing a surprising show of speed that not many would think a big man like him was capable of displaying, Biggs met Arachne's charge, surprising the member of Laughing Coffin, using the basic shield skill shield bash to the lack of a more correct term, swat away the surprised woman. Quickly switching focus to the incoming spear user, he widened his chance to have a proper footing and prepared to block the attack.

As much as Wedge sacrificed defense for the sake of speed, his brother focused an equal amount on being an immovable object in every sense of the word. In terms of defense, he probably had the strongest in all of the game, save for Heathcliff who Natsu knew after only one boss battle together that thanks to his unique skill had a strong defense that could easily be called OP. That's why he was not surprised that Biggs was able to withstand the simple Thrust skill Morgana launched with ease, pushing back the surprised woman.

"How dare you!" Arachne shrieked as she stood back up, blindly rushing at Biggs, began slashing at him, completely forgetting about using her sword skills. Biggs calmly held up his shield, blocking one after another, not giving any ground to her blind attack."Just die already!"

Natsu, still on the ground watched as Morgana once again joined her sister, but they were not coordinating at all, getting in each other's way, all the while Biggs calmly held them back, not letting them advance not even a feet. It was not that much a surprise. Biggs was one of the top players, with the skills and experience to back it up.

Morgana on the other hand was no slouch from what he observed but she lacked the experience born from fights with their lives on the line. The difference between a mid-level player and a high-level one was in the risk they were taking. A mid-level, like Morgana, would mostly play on floors that were already mapped out, there was information available on all possible dangers. On the other hand, those on the frontline didn't have such luxury. They will have to look out for the slightest indications of an enemy trying to use a sword skill, never really sure what skills, resistances, and tricks the next enemy would have.

In terms of raw ability, Arachne was probably below Morgana. It was a logical conclusion. With how high her hiding and searching skills were according to her, her other skills had to suffer, most probably her combat skills if her preference for stealth attacks and poisons were any indication. If you focused on leveling up a skill, some others would have to suffer. That's why Liz who focused on blacksmithing was not a frontliner and Agil who planned to run a shop full-time also planned to retire from the cleaners.

Not to mention that the two women were off-balance and ill-coordinated. They also had to hurry and deal with Biggs before Natsu could move, neither of them wanted to try their chances at a 2-on-2 scenario. Their dirty tactics could only carry them so far, now that they were aware of said tactics.

Biggs weathered the blows with a stoic indifference that was in great contrast to his earlier anger. He didn't try to attack, he knew as well as Natsu that he only needed to buy time for Natsu to move again and/or the others to catch up. He stayed in one place, his footing solid, no matter how many attacks Arachne and Morgana unleashed, thanks to their poor cooperation they were not able to drive him back, his shield easily stopping all of their attacks.

"It's not working, Big Sister." Morgana said after her latest attack was blocked, prompting her to fall back next to her sister."We are running out of time."

"Thank you for stating the obvious!" Arachne snarled, fury marring her face. She was trying to stare holes into Biggs as she panted, already drained."Make yourselves useful and do something instead of whining."

"I have a plan, sister." Morgana said with a wicked smile twisting her face.

Meanwhile, Biggs stayed back, content in simply watching them for their next move while he defended Natsu who was still on the ground, courtesy of the paralysis.

"Natsu, how are you doing?" Biggs asked quietly without taking his eyes off the two PKers.

"Should wear off any minute." he answered as he struggled to move his body, eying the paralysis icon in the corner of his vision in frustration. "Most poisons that cause paralysis should have worn off by now. This might be something really high-level. Just what kind of resources these guys have?" he asked himself.

"That's something we can think about when we get out of here." warned Biggs, raising his shield as he saw Arachne and Morgana getting ready for the second round."For now, here they come."

True to his words, Arachne and Morgana charged forward once again, this time the spear using blonde leading. Biggs likewise ran forward to keep them away from Natsu's defenseless form, while the young teen could only watch helplessly, not wanting to be a burden.

Morgana's spear glowed with a faint purple light just a few feet before she reached Biggs. As she raised her weapon Natsu already recognized the sword skill, courtesy of all those training sessions with Buzz, doubtlessly one of the most proficient spear users in the game. Vent Forth, a four-hit sword skill, that was mostly used against multiple enemies.

Like most spear skills, it was a thrust skill but Natsu was quite confused about why she would use that one. As the user thrust forward four times, hitting the four points of an invisible rectangle in front of them, it was too wide of a rectangle to aim at a person properly. It was mostly used to force multiple enemies or opponents with high agility that relied mostly on evading stay in one place, allowing other players to attack them.

His eyes widened as he deduced why would she use this skill of all the available ones, but he had no time to shout out a warning to the big guy. Biggs predictably stopped, hunkering behind his shield that was almost as large as him, the skill's attacks only cathing the edges of it, nowhere near strong enough to overcome his defense or even unbalance him. But it was not needed, after all, he didn't fight against only one opponent.

Arachne instead of charging at him, drew a large half-circle around him, seemingly running toward Natsu with an insane grin n her face. Biggs noticed it and with a shout he jumped toward her, intent on stopping her and in the process fallen into the trap laid before him.

With a laugh she suddenly stopped and turned around, facing the oncoming teen. Her curved sword shone in a pale blue light as she unleashed a sword skill. She twirled around, her blade drawing a circle around her, sending two quick horizontal slashes at Biggs midsection, before she suddenly started spinning in the opposing direction, sending two more slashes from the other side.

Biggs tried to bring up his shield and he was able to block the first two attacks, but the force behind them and his hastily raised defense was his undoing. His shield was pushed aside, the last two attacks catching him in the chest, making him stagger back, stunned. Thankfully his chest piece blocked most of the attack, so while he suffered damage, Arachne's sword was not able to bypass his armor. Still, he was stunned if only for a brief second.

"Biggs!" Natsu cried out in worry as he saw Morgana, out of her cooldown, raise her spear with a sadistic smirk at his unguarded back. And the paralysis indicator was still blinking, his body useless, no matter how hard he struggled to move it.

'Move, body, move!' he cried inside, pleading for the paralysis to end, not wanting to see his friend get hurt.'I don't want to lose anyone, to see a friend in pain. Please, for once, let the game be on my side. Just let my sword reach them.' he pleaded on the inside, looking at the still form of his beloved sword that helped him for so long, Benevolent.

"Please feel free to scream!" laughed Morgana as she thrust forward with her weapon, Biggs unable to do anything defense. As the spear came closer to the big-boned teen for a moment everything stood still.

-0-

"Stay still, you hooligan!" Roger roared as he ran at the cloaked PKer, his mace raised above his head, glinting with golden light. He struck down, narrowly missing his opponent who moved away with over the top acrobatics, laughing all the way. The mace crashing into the ground, sending a small tremor through it thanks to the force of the blow.

"My, how scary!" the boy, because by his voice he sounded young, laughed to himself even as he narrowly dodged a strike Basil tried to launch from his blind spot, before he threw small daggers at Roger, the knives shining with a faint green light, indicating the throw ability being used. The older man grunted in as one of them bounced off his shield without any difficulty but the other found its way into just below his right arm, finding a spot not covered by his armor.

Despite the size of the small corridor, their attacker was able to move with surprising agility and acrobatics, avoiding most of their attacks, while keeping them on the defensive. The only evidence of the vicious attacks by the two green players was on his cloak that had many parts of it cut off, though it still served to keep his identity secret. Basil otherwise was mostly unharmed, was looking at him calculating, trying to think of an effective strategy. Roger was the worst off, who in his rage sacrificed a lot of defense, full of small cuts, nothing life-threatening but it was enough to slow him down.

"It's been a while since I had so much fun." the youth grinned at them, his large grin visible even from below his hood. "Come, entertain me a little more." he said, holding up his dagger in a reverse grip, taunting them with his other hand.

"Just what are you playing at?" Basil asked with narrowed eyes, his frustration leaking through his ordinarily calm demeanor. Something felt off ever since he showed up in front of them and engaged them. He tried to be cautious, fearing the sudden ambush from his accomplice or some kind of trap prepared for them, but there was nothing. Not even his weapons were poisoned.

His eyes widened as he arrived at the only possible conclusion, a conclusion he didn't like. There was only one reason for him to play around like that, he was the diversion, meant to keep them from going to help the others.

"Whoa, such a scary glare." he gulped in mock fear at the glare Basil sent him, even though he didn't lose his smile, not even a bit. "I'm getting excited here, you know? Don't leave me hanging." he told Basil with a laugh, sounding as if he wasn't in the middle of a life and death fight.

He would have talked more, but he suddenly jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the rapier aimed at his head. The blade whistled as it sailed through where their attacker's head was a moment ago, revealing the grim visage of Wedge who didn't let the missed attack discourage him and pointed his blade straight at the orange player.

"Oi, oi, nobody told me about any new players." he grumbled with a little nervousness creeping into his voice as he found himself backed into a wall, Wedge on one side and the very angry duo of Basil and Roger on the other."If you all come at me, even I can get overwhelmed, you know? Not cool at all, man." despite all of that he still stood confidently, twirling his dagger in his hands.

"Well, usually I'm not one to cut the fun short, but in your case, I'll have to make an exception." Wedge said with a deadly serious look on his face as he slowly lowered his center of gravity and took a stance, ready to fight.

"Wedge!" Basil cried out to his friend, though he did his best not to take his eyes off of his opponent, who proved to be very slippery. "It's just a diversion, to keep us away from the others." he declared and he heard Roger gasp at his side, realizing the implication.

"I figured." agreed the older teen with a nod."Unfortunately, if we were to separate further we would be easy pickings. That means we will have to defeat this guy as fast as we can before we go and help Natsu and Biggs." he told them, causing the other player to began laughing to himself.

"You can't leave someone behind to fight me because you fear that with some underhanded move I will kill them." he grinned at them, while almost unnoticeably moved his free behind his back. "That's why I don't like good guys, too many restrictions. Me on the other hand, none. So let's fight to the death." all of them tensed as he suddenly whipped his free hand out, holding some kind of potion with black liquid in it. "Just kidding." he laughed at the look on their faces loudly.

He turned around and throw the vial into the wall, the glass broking to pieces loudly. The black liquid as if it was paint or ink, slowly began to slide down the wall, painting it black.

"As much as fun this was, time to abandon Arachne-chan to your tender mercies. It will be good character development for her." he laughed as he put his hand on the strange black liquid and to their shock, it simply went into, a moment later most of his body disappearing into the wall."Kill you later." he called back with a wave before his arm and head disappeared, leaving the three players alone in the corridor. Soon the black liquid disappeared, seeping into the cracks of the floor, leaving nothing behind.

"What in the-?" Roger gaped at the spot their enemy disappeared."What kind of item is that? I never heard of anything like that." he looked at the two others in question who were busy looking around, in case the orange player left behind any other surprises.

"No idea." Wedge said with a frown and it said a lot about a guy who worked a lot with former betas with more knowledge on the game than all other beta testers put together. After so much time with Buzz, Argo and Kirito encountering something they never heard of did not sound reassuring.

"Wedge, we better hurry." Basil called out after apparently finding nothing else suspicious. He had a panicked look on his face, that the older teen immediately understood with a quick look at the health bars of their group in the corner of his vision.

"Let's go." he agreed with a grim face before the three of them began running back the way they came, praying that they made it in time. None of them wanted to lose any more of their comrades.

-0-

For a moment everything and everyone stood still. Even the fire from the torches seemed to freeze for a moment as everyone took stock of what happened.

Biggs's eyes were wide as he was half-turned towards Morgana, watching helplessly but Morgana and Arachne themselves wore shocked expressions too, caught off-guard by these new turns off events.

"Lucky. Looks like I made it." Natsu said, giving a pained smile as he stood before Biggs, Morgana's spear running through his left shoulder, the blade peeking through the other side of his virtual body. The attack took a rather large portion of his health bar but thankfully it missed vital points where the damage would have been larger. "Just as I thought. No paralysis." he commented when he experimentally clenched his right fist, his body reacting to his commands right away.

Further shocking his audience, he suddenly grabbed the shaft of the blond woman's spear and forcefully lodged the long blade out of his body before he shoved away from himself, raising his sword with the other hand in warning.

"What are you?" Morgana asked a little fearfully as she instinctually stepped back. Despite his age and short stature, in the low lighting, with his eyes practically glowing orange, and for that matter, when did they become orange, a fearless smile on his face he looked really intimidating. The only evidence of the injury he suffered was a small red circle on his left shoulder that slowly but steadily was shrinking. "Just how are you immune to paralysis?" she demanded, holding up her spear in defense.

Arachne instead of wasting time with words tried to use the confusion to attack, but she was soon rebuffed by the large teen's shield who stood in her way with a fierce expression.

"I won't let you!" Biggs declared, not moving an inch when Arachne attacked him with all she had.

Natsu finished testing how his arm worked, noting just a smidge of discomfort. If this was the real world he wouldn't have been able to use his arm so well, but that was game mechanics for you. Any pain he felt was incredibly dull, more like discomfort since it was not his body just a virtual one. It also meant that the injury itself did nothing to restrict the movement of his arm, so it let him fight at full potential.

"Biggs, please take care of Arachne." he called out to his friend with a small smile, before he turned his attention back to Morgana who seemed to tremble in anger at being dismissed so easily. "I'll join you as soon as I can." he declared in a rare display of confidence.

"Don't you dare look down on me." she roared as she ran forward and attacked Natsu with abandon but much to her shock the young kid calmly blocked or evaded her attacks without difficulty, not even taking a step back, not losing that confident smile on his face. The difference between them was clear as day.

In this game, there were two factors that more than most mattered when facing an enemy, especially in player versus player fights. The first was level. This was a level-based game where if you got high enough numbers, you can be practically untouchable. It extended to item levels, skill levels, everything. And safe to say Natsu outclassed Morgana in most aspects. He had better items and while she was strong enough to face most things on this floor, Natsu who practically spent every waking moment training or farming on monsters had much higher numbers overall.

The second most important difference was the experience. This was a virtual reality game where there was no button smashing. You had to get used to the fact that you are fighting for real, that enemies before you are real for lack of a better term. That you are holding a sharp weapon and the enemy in front of you intent to stab you with theirs. Acclimating to that, fighting to became second nature is not as easy as that sounds.

Even at the frontlines, there was a clear divide among those who had been fighting since the early floors and those who only gained the courage to get out and join months later with the obvious exceptions, the likes of Heathcliff who took to these fights to the death like fish to water. And Kirito, come to think of it, that guy tended to be in a completely different dimension sometimes.

That didn't mean that he had nothing to fear. Far from that. But now that she couldn't stab him in the back and take him by surprise, he had the upper hand. That was the advantage both he and Biggs had over their opponents. When it came to pure combat, without the aid of shadows and traps, they lived in that world every day.

With a frustrated cry, Morgana attacked one again, using the 3 stab sword skill, Triple Thrust. It was basically 3 simple thrusts in quick succession, the third one easily having enough strength to throw someone back if it connected. Not losing his confident pose, he expertly maneuvered his body, blocking the first strike with his sword while he simply evaded the succeeding thrusts before he finally began his counterattack, forcing back the traitor.

One massive advantage he had over her, he knew the spear related sword skills she used as the back of his head, thanks to all of those training sessions with Buzz. That was the most dangerous part of the PVP fight. Sword skills were incredible and powerful but on the other hand, weren't flexible at all and predictable. The system executed the skill, you had no control over it once you launched it. It meant that you couldn't cancel a move once you committed to it but worst of all, if one recognized the skill from the first few movements, it was not that hard to prepare a block or a counter for it or evade it completely.

Once started, he didn't let up. He began to apply pressure on Morgana by a furious series of attacks, choosing to forgone the use of sword skills until he had a definite idea of her skillset.

Morgana had to back away because of his assault, trying to keep him at distance with her spear's reach and she was partially able to keep him back, though that forced her mostly on the defensive. Still, Natsu knew he needed to hurry up. While statistically he and Biggs had the upper hand, it did not mean either of the twins couldn't think of something up if they got the time for it. They needed to use their own tactic against them, attack fast, and without pause, not giving them ground to think of a counterattack. There was also a possibility of reinforcements showing up, something that was not out of the realm of possibilities.

As he avoided a stab from Morgana he spotted something interesting. The shaft of her spear was a dark brown color with many decorations but what piqued his interest that close to the head was a small section that seemed much lighter on color. He couldn't help but grin as he thought of an idea to finish things up quickly.

"You know, outside of Sword Skills, there are mostly two ways to cause paralysis." he said conversationally as he dodged a wide sweep from Morgana, backing away and stopping a little distance away from her. Morgana was breathing heavily, none of her earlier confidence showing. In the background, he heard Biggs fight with Arachne, the orange player giving grunts of frustration as she couldn't pierce the large teen's defense. "One of those to have a weapon with the ability to cause paralysis but those are very, very rare and we would have noticed if either of you had something like that. Am I right?" it was a little strange how his usual behavior changed in the middle of a battle, growing more confident and a little more snarky. Something to think about later.

"What?" she asked back, shocked. Morgana looked unnerved by his attitude. Looking back on it, it dawned on him why he felt like something was wrong with her ever since they met, though he didn't have any idea back then that she would betray them like that.

"That leaves only one option, coating your weapons with poison capable of causing paralysis." he raised his sword, pointing the edge at her. She looked taken aback, confirming his thoughts."But, that method is mostly usable in surprise attacks, almost useless in real combat because of three drawbacks. First of all, from the moment it was applied, it will periodically lose its effectiveness as time passes, making the chance of activating paralysis less and even lowering the duration the effect will be active." he explained and the moment he finished speaking he charged forward and sent a vertical straight at Morgana who struggled to raise her spear for a block.

He pressed forward, not letting up even for a moment, trying to create the perfect moment for the execution of his plan. Morgana's defense held but only just so with small cuts appearing on her form after his attacks, no clean hit but still enough to steadily drain her health bar, little by little.

"The second drawback to using this method," he continued to talk, remembering how Argo told him how effectively could it throw off your enemy, distracting them. The key was not to let himself get distracted while he did that. "is that with every swing of your weapon you further decrease the time and effectiveness of your poison, so in the middle of the battle a few swings are enough for your poison to become nonexistent." he grinned as he saw realization shine in her eyes. Her reckless attacks against Biggs were more than enough for the poison to come off by the time he jumped into the fray.

"Just stop talking:" Morgana cried as she began to fight back, quickly taking a familiar stance. Soon her spear shone dark purple as she charged forward, using the sword skill Fatal Thrust. It was a simple thrust attack with enough power to one-shot weaker enemies but in response to that had a ridiculously long cooldown. She played right into his hand.

He avoided the attack with an ease born from countless mock battles against Buzz and without a moment of hesitation launched a skill of his own, a diagonal but the target was not the blonde woman but the shaft of her spear near where the blade rested. The wood resisted for a moment before breaking with a loud sound that even earned the attention of Biggs and Arachne who were in the middle of their version of cat and mouse. Morgana simply stood there staring at the broken wood shaft that used to be her spear, frozen either by shock or the post motion delay as the blade of her weapon fell to the ground.

"The third drawback is," he told her, raising his sword so it pointed at her chest." that it lowers the durability of the weapon making it more susceptible of weapon break." Considering that spears had one of the lowest overall durability out of all weapon types, it was easier than it looked.

For a moment everything stood still, Morgana trying to get grips with what happened. Then a second later, the two halves of the spear disappeared leaving a bunch of polygons in their place. It prompted Morgana to began to back away from him, trembling in fear.

Natsu looked at her, feeling a little bit puzzled at the sudden show of fear. It wasn't like they were gonna kill her, now that he thought about it he had no idea what they could do with them. Getting out of the dungeon while holding them prisoners would be challenging enough but what would happen after? They couldn't just let them go and hurt others, so they needed to think of someplace, a prison to hold them until they beat the game. Food for thought, something to decide later.

His instincts suddenly flared, just as he heard Biggs shout out in worry.

"Natsu! Look out!" turning back he caught sight of the big guy trying to run after Arachne who made a beeline toward him and was in the middle of throwing a pair of knives at him.

Some kind of sixth sense screamed at him not to try and block them, and since his instincts had yet to betray him, he followed them without question. Not bothering with Morgana he jumped away, the knives just sailing past him. He landed a few feet away and his eyes widened as he heard a pained scream. Looking back, he saw both projectiles hit the blonde woman, one in her leg the other on the chest, sending her health bar to the red zone. She also fell to the ground like a marionette that had its strings cut, most likely the blades were poisoned.

Arachne stopped next to the slumped form of her sister, turning around to face them with a cruel smirk, while Biggs stopped next to Natsu, the two teens sharing a nod between them. Arachne and her sister were in front of the open boss room while the two green players were a little distance away from them, their back facing the tunnel that led them to this room.

"B-Big sister." Morgana whispered, unable to even move her head, completely helpless. Arachne looked at her with a blank look, before she lashed out and kicked her in the stomach, eliciting a cry of pain from the younger twin.

"Shut up you useless twin of mine!" she shouted as she once again kicked Morgana, much to the horror of Biggs and Natsu before she turned toward them, sneering at the two."I had enough of your interference."

"She is your sister." Natsu cried out, aghast."Why are you doing this?" he asked, not able to believe why would someone do this to their sibling, to their family. Biggs next to him looked enraged, and only Natsu's hand on his shoulder stopped him from charging ahead. They needed cool heads for this, both of them knew, but it didn't come so easily.

"Not like she's good for anything. I always thought she was worthless and this proved it." she told them, ignoring the tears gathering in her sister's eyes."Well, all in a good day's work I suppose. The original objectives were met. My sister proved to be the weak link I know she was, but at least the effectiveness of leader-sama's item was proven. Guess it's time for me to make my escape. Though I would have loved to play with you more, Natsu-kun." she said as she licked her lips, making Natsu shudder at the action.

"As if we would let you. After what you did do you think you can be forgiven?" Biggs cried out in rage, stepping forward while pointing his sword at Arachne.

Natsu never saw him this angry, though he could see where he came from. Those deaths, the cruelty, it was more than any of them were prepared to face. He knew himself well enough to know he will break down the moment it was over, but until then he needed to keep himself together.

"You won't let me?" Arachne smirked at his words, before reaching down and grabbing Morgana's hair and lifting it, eliciting another cry of pain from her."You won't have a chance if you want to save the life of my darling little sister." she cackled, much to their disgust. Forget the way she treated her, using her sister's life as a bargaining chip? That was disgusting.

With a grunt of exertion, showing a surprising amount of strength they didn't think she had, she threw Morgana behind her, directly into the boss room. Both teens watched in horror as the unmoving form of Morgana landed in the boss room, a large shape from the other end of the room slowly moving toward her. Meanwhile, Arachne used the distraction to run toward the nearest wall, throwing some kind of glass at it that shattered, spraying black liquid over it.

Biggs was about to run after her, but Natsu stopped him.

"Biggs, let her go." he said, looking worriedly at the direction where Morgana lied helplessly, the large form of this floor's boss steadily coming closer."We have to save Morgana."

"But-" Biggs tried to object, but it was clear he was debating with himself. Natsu didn't like it any less, the thought of letting Arachne go left a sour taste in his mouth, but he hated the thought of leaving someone, even Morgana to die much more.

"If we sink to their level, if we abandon someone, even if it's an enemy then what are we?" Natsu asked back, staring into Biggs's conflicted eyes."If I did that I could never look into a mirror again." he explained. Biggs was silent for a moment before his shoulder slumped and he gave a nod to Natsu.

The two of them spared a look at Arachne's retreating form, only catching sight of her body disappearing into some kind of black goo before they ran into the boss room.

As they ran into the boss room, both of them had a brief feeling of deja vu. Unlike the rest of the labyrinth, the boss room was very spacious with a smooth black marble floor and the torches along the wall were held by stone statues and shone with a bright light It was eerily similar to how the 25th floor looked like.

Morgana lied not that far from the entrance, pleading for help but far enough that her mere presence gained the boss's attention who began to walk toward them with footsteps that caused the floor below them to slightly tremble.

Biggs and Natsu were nervous sure, but they were aware they didn't need to fight the boss, only to get Morgana and get out without suffering any casualties. But both of them froze when they caught sight of the boss. They should have anticipated this, the whole undead theme of the dungeon, the reappearance of Illfang the first boss they faced. The identity of the boss should have been pretty easy to figure out.

No, Natsu had a pretty good idea about the boss, ever since he fought against Illfang but he didn't want to believe it. Didn't want it to be real, he didn't want to relive that nightmare. But all that hoping was nothing.

Ulrik, the two-headed giant that guarded the gate leading to the 26th floor, the enemy that killed so many players before they were finally able to defeat it. Before its death it was a giant, its height rivaling Fuscus, the 5th-floor boss, with its skin-deep blue and very hard to penetrate. It had two snarling heads, both of them wearing Viking style helmets. Keeping up with the Viking theme, its armor was a strange mixture of leather armor and animal furs and it had two double-headed axes as weapons.

Ulrik was a very aggressive boss, more than any other they encountered before. It used a few skills but even its basic attacks were very strong. It could easily one-hit players with lighter armor, was a lot faster than its size would indicate and its defense made shrug off attacks with ease.

The 25th boss was nothing short of the terrifying and its undead version did his best to live up to this reputation. There was no flesh on the monster, only a skeleton dressed in that strange armor of Ulrik filled with holes and for some reason, arrows sticking out of its back. A blue fire burned inside the eye sockets of the two skulls on to its body. The left one was missing its jaw, while the right one had a big crack running through its helmet and skull. Ulrik, the Undead Giant still held its all too familiar double-bladed axes, though they seemed to be rusty and blunt. Still, Natsu did not doubt that it could still easily slice him in half if given the opportunity.

As Ulrik slowly walked closer and close, Natsu desperately tried to move, to look away from the monstrosity but he couldn't. He didn't hear Morgana's pleas any longer, he even forgot about Biggs standing next to him, his sword almost falling out of his hands, he was trembling so badly.

He found himself back on the 25th floor, players crying out in terror around him. Ulrik easily cutting through their hastily raised defenses, Basil and Agil swatted to the side with a simple strike from the boss, his ears ringing as Kirito and Buzz tried to give orders, organize them instead of running without direction.

'I don't want to die.' was the sole thought running through his head, lost in the memories of one of the toughest fights of his life.'Not yet, not like this. I don't want to die, I want to live, I want to see my mama, stay with my friends.' all the while Ulrik was getting closer neither young men able to move ironically paralyzed this time by sheer fear.

Sudden pain in his palm made him look up. Somehow, despite his body being nothing more than a bunch of ones and zeros, his free hand was clenched so strongly it caused minuscule damage to himself. As if coming out of a daze, he looked up, watching Ulrik slowly lumbering closer. He was still scary as hell, but Natsu was able to fight off the memories, focusing on one thing. There was someone in danger.

Looking to the side he found Biggs in the same fearful stupor he had just been. No time to be gentle, he simply slapped the giant teen's shoulder lightly, causing him to jump and look at him in question.

"Biggs, we have to concentrate. We have to get Morgana out of here." Biggs looked uncertain for a second but nodded in the end, turning back to Ulrik with a determined expression. Natsu meanwhile thought furiously about what was the best course of action, running was the only viable option, no way the two of them could stand up to the undead boss. He gulped, painfully aware of what he needed to do. "I distract Ulrik, get Morgana out of here." he said, his friend looked at him in alarm.

"What are you talking about?" he objected strongly."You are much faster than me, it should be me, I will act as a distraction-" he began to say but Natsu cut him off with a glare that reminded the older teen one of the reasons Natsu was chosen as guild leader.

"We don't have a raid party along with us. You can't withstand his attacks for long but I can avoid them." he explained, holding his sword with both hands, trying to ignore the subtle trembling of his body. No matter how much he feared the monster before him, he knew what he needed to do."Don't argue. Get her out of her as soon as you can and I will be right behind you." when Biggs didn't move for a long moment he shouted at him."Go!" before he changed forward, toward the undead boss who almost reached Morgana.

He tried to bury whatever apprehension he felt, concentrating nothing but his job. He remembered the lessons Buzz gave him and tried his best to find the best approach. Sword Skills were out of the question, he didn't want to deal great damage, only to get Ulrik's attention and without other people attacked the boss the post-motion delays could put him at a disadvantage.

"Come on you big brute." he cried out when he couldn't think of anything better, running past Morgana, directly between Ulrik's legs. He lashed out with his sword, cutting into the armor on his legs, a red line appearing below the beast's left knee, but it gave no sound only stopping for a second, confused.

Natsu ran behind it, the two-headed giant slowly turning around, it's skull cackling in an eerie fashion. Ulrik raised his right ax to strike him down but he jumped away at the last possible moment, avoiding the powerful attack just in time, slowly but noticeable retreating, trying to get him away from Morgana and Biggs as far as possible.

While in this form it was even scarier than in the previous, for now, it looked like its stats were very similar to what it had before its defeat. That meant while it was almost insanely strong and sturdy as hell, its speed was low enough that Natsu who only needed to buy time could avoid his attacks. Hopefully.

He tried to lead it away when he spotted Biggs running to Morgana's side who was crying either in fear or relief, periodically darting closer and landing a few attacks on its legs to make sure to draw all of the aggro. In response, Ulrik haphazardly swept at him with his weapons, led by no real tactic but simple impulses. Still, Natsu had to use every one of his points put into his agility to dodge them without falling too back and let it turn its attention to the others.

Suddenly Ulrik raised both of his arms, both axes shining with a light blue light. He instantly recognized the skill a double downward slash that functioned as an AoE attack since it hits the ground with such force that almost everyone falls over in the vicinity. This skill was one of the primary reasons while their defenses failed so easily when they initially faced this boss.

But it was not impossible to avoid. He saw Kirito demonstrate it during the boss battle. You needed very precise timing for it, to jump over the aftershock just in time. For most people, it would be an impossible feat but Natsu felt confident he could make it.

He had to since he was too close to be able to get out of its effective range.

Ulrik's axes landed on the ground with great force. Just as they reached the floor, Natsu jumped backward, putting all of his strength into the jump so he could remain above the group as long as he could. For a moment he feared he missed the timing as he landed he felt the floor tremble below him but it soon passed and he remained on two feet. He made it, barely but he still made it.

He was about to make another run at the giant when Biggs's voice reached him.

"Natsu, we are almost out." he shouted, Morgana, thrown over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes."Hurry up." they were almost at the entrance to the boss room.

Natsu gave a relieved smile before he focused on Ulrik. The undead giant was coming out of the post motion delay caused by the skill, he needed to move now. He began to sprint, trying to keep his distance from the boss that noticed him and turned to cut him off.

Retreating from the enemy was always a risky business, opening yourself to an attack from behind, which almost impossible to dodge. Most players normally only try with someone staying behind watching your back, but right now Natsu had no such option. He had to be quick if he wanted to get out unscathed.

He draws a half-circle around the giant form of Ulrik before the boss clued into his intentions and raised one of his weapons to strike. It sent a horizontal swipe at Natsu who ad to duck low to avoid being sliced in half by the powerful blow but he didn't notice the second ax coming from above.

His eyes widened as he saw the attack but it was far too late to dodge. He raised his blade in a block and deflected some of the damage but in the end, he still got hit. With tremendous power the blade embedded itself into the ground, Natsu was thrown back by the force of the blow.

He landed on his back, his entire body crying out in pain. Opening his eyes, he first noticed his health bar, a large part of it missing sending it into the middle of the yellow zone. He heard worried cries not far from him but his largest problem was the two-headed giant skeleton slowly walking towards him.

He should have seen that attack, should have been able to dodge it. Yet, despite the numbers saying otherwise he was still hit. And as he struggled to stand up, Natsu understood the reason for it.

Mental fatigue. One of the largest dangers of spending too much time on the field fighting. The bodies they had in this world may not be flesh, it couldn't get tired but the brain certainly could. The brain working overtime, exhausting the player as if he was fighting for hours in the real world. It causes players to make mistakes and mistakes get them killed. That was the reason why it was not recommended to fight out in the fields for more than three or four hours without rest. That was common sense in this new world, Kirito said to him once.

In retrospect, it was not that surprising. It was probably around late afternoon and he and his friends entered during the morning. All that time they spent fighting in the dungeon, one danger after another. Illfang, the attacks of the PKers just made things worse.

Though they did stop to rest from time to time, to eat and drink, so the feelings of hunger and thirst wouldn't distract them, it simply wasn't enough. Resting in a dungeon for a few minutes was nothing compared to resting, sleeping in your home in a safe zone.

With great difficulty he got up, finding himself face to face with the boss that almost killed him with one hit. He felt so tired, his body weighing down like nothing else. Even holding up his sword felt like something out of the realm of possibilities. Natsu gritted his teeth, trying to get over the feeling or he will die without a doubt.

"I won't let you!" a voice cried out just as the boss was about to attack. Looking to the size in surprise, he just caught sight of Wedge unleashing multiple thrusts with his rapier at Ulrik, Basil quickly following him, making the boss forget about him, much to his relief. "Biggs, get him out of here." the rapier user ordered before he and Basil began to attack the undead.

Natsu was about to open his mouth when he was unceremoniously grabbed by the big arms of big and draped over his back. By the time he finally understood what was happening the big guy was running toward the entrance of the boss room with him on his back while his two other friends covered them.

Before long, Biggs stopped, gently putting down Natsu, holding him when he almost falls over. They were outside the boss room, Morgana and Roger not far from them, the latter keeping an eye on her, though he looked visibly confused at what was going on.

He looked worriedly in the direction of the boss, fearing the condition of Wedge and Basil but as he turned around he caught them leaving the room with scraps and tired but very much alive. Ulrik didn't seem to follow them outside and a moment later the doors closed, signifying the 'end' of the boss battle.

For a terrifying moment, everyone stood still, not wanting to believe it was over just yet. The room was silent save for Wedge and Basil huffing, trying to get their breath back and the crackle of flames in the torches. In the end, it was Roger who was eying the boss room's door warily who finally broke the silence.

"Is it over?" he whispered, feeling as if he tried to speak louder the boss on the other side would hear and decide to attack.

Natsu looked at the faces of his friends, searching for the answer himself. Was it over? He didn't think so. Ian and Grumpy died and the main perpetrators got away. They caught Morgana, but what should they do with her? Where to take her? Arachne also mentioned they had a guild, Laughing Coffin. How many player killers are out there? He felt as if the very rules of the game changed. It was unheard of, PK at the frontlines.

He broke out his morose thoughts when he felt a hand pat his head. Looking up he met Wedge's tired face, the older teen offering a small smile to him.

"For now it's over." he told them, more for Natsu's sake than Roger's. He eyes Morgana, who didn't dare to move an inch, even though the paralysis probably wore off by now."But I fear it's not the last time we saw these guys." Natsu gave a nod, not doubting for a second it was not their last encounter.

"At the very least, it looks like our maps started working once again. It looks like it was simply blocked since it recorded where we were even when we couldn't access it." said Basil, checking his menu and giving a relieved sigh as he found everything in working order.

"Man, am I glad to hear that." Wedge laughed, his shoulders dropping in visible relief, before he turned away from Natsu, letting Biggs help him up and look after him while he looked at Morgana with a pensive look on his face."Guess, it's time for us to leave this labyrinth. We have quite a few talks before us." he said at it was hard not to miss Morgana suddenly tensing from her spot on the ground. But before she could decide to try anything Basil was already next to her, pointing his sword at her in a warning.

'I-I'll cooperate." she said fearfully, looking as if she just signed her death warrant. Wedge only grunted, not betraying his thoughts on the matter, causing her to tremble before he signed to Basil who told her to get up and get going.

"Let's go home." Biggs told Natsu quietly, giving him an encouraging smile.

"Yeah, I had enough of this labyrinth for a lifetime and a half." he agreed with a faint laugh as he stood up properly.

-0-

"Here you go, Natsu-kun." Asuna said with a kind smile as she placed a cup of tea before Natsu who was deep in thought, almost jumping when he noticed her.

"Ah, th-thank you, Asuna-nee." he answered, blushing a little at being caught off-guard. Normally he couldn't call others with such a familiar honorific, but Asuna insisted and it helped he liked to spend time with the older girl. Despite her worries and constant lectures about being reckless, she treated him more or less as an equal. She had that aura around her that helped him relax a lot easier. It was part of the reason why he decided to go to the headquarters of the KOB as soon as they left the 27th floor's labyrinth.

He picked up the still-hot cup of tea and took a sip from it. Calling it tea in the traditional sense would be a mistake. It was not made with ingredients found in the real world and even the method of making it different from traditional methods. It was made from different drops from monsters, using the game's cooking system, producing something similar to tea.

He couldn't help but smile at the sweet taste that reminded him of the tea his mother used to make whenever he had a bad dream. Asuna's cooking skill come a long way, even though she only began to work on it as some kind of hobby in the last month after she visited them at the mansion and encountered some of Basil's earlier experiments. After that, she suddenly decided to try her hand at cooking. And no offense to Basil, but she really had a talent in it.

"It has a very nice taste, thank you." he thanked her with a smile that for once didn't feel forced. After the day's events, he would have thought it would be harder to smile but being among friends had an effect on him. "Also, thank you for looking after Fives and Annabelle while we were way over our heads." he told her, feeling a little embarrassed. Even if he didn't like it, a lot of it was pure luck that all of them were able to get out of that trap, with only two casualties.

Roger was with Annabelle and Fives, huddled together at the corner of the room, whispering among themselves. Natsu didn't want to know what they might have been feeling. They almost died, not from monsters but at the hands of other players, humans like themselves, Ian and Grumpy died before their eyes, and worst of all, Morgana one of their comrades turned out to work for the very people who wanted to kill them. It was enough to shake up anyone.

Basil was resting on a couch not far from them, seemingly sleeping. Natsu knew better, his friend was alert even in a safe zone of a friendly guild but took the opportunity to rest a little since all of them were very exhausted by the day's events. Wedge and Biggs left them, went back to the manor to inform Buzz and Agil of what they found. It reminded Natsu he definitely had a few things to talk about with Agil and Buzz but that could wait for a while.

"Fortunately, they arrived when they did." said Asuna with a thoughtful frown as she also looked at the three survivors."Agil was getting worried since you didn't come back and I was just about to grab a group and go after you myself." she stated, messing his hair up with a small smile, ignoring his embarrassed protests.

"I'm glad you didn't." he said, losing whatever levity he had, looking down the ground."I don't want any more people to get hurt."

"Yeah." Asuna looked on helplessly for a moment before she sat down next to him, throwing an arm around him, drawing Natsu close to her. After a tense moment, he relaxed, melting into her side, basking in the warm feeling the brown-haired girl provided."How are you feeling?" she asked softly, prompting him to look at his hands in his lap. They were trembling.

"I," he hesitated, not knowing what to tell her."I feel angry, scared, terrified. A lot of things." Asuna didn't interrupt him, only giving his shoulders a gentle squeeze, to remind him she was there for him."It's, I got used to fighting fairly easily. It's scary as hell but there is a certain, how do I say this, flow to it. Once you catch onto that flow, it comes naturally. But it was never like this. Until now we have been fighting monsters, computer programs who couldn't help what their programming is. And intellectually I knew that Kayaba, the one who imprisoned us here is the one responsible for it and I accepted it. But, maybe it was naive of me, but I never thought something like this could happen. Other players could choose to kill others, especially if they knew that if they kill anyone here, they die out there too. It just," he sighed in frustration, trying to organize what he wanted to say."I never thought some could betray their comrades like that, to kill someone without any remorse. They enjoyed it and it makes it so much worse." he gulped, trying to blink back the tears that gathered in his eyes."The thought of people capable of that, that there are people like those in this game, it scares me more than any boss." he admitted, turning to Asuna fully, giving her a strong hug, trying to hide from the rest of the world."

"Oh Natsu, I'm so sorry." Asuna whispered as she embraced him, letting him get out his feelings. A lot of people tend to forget it, because most of the time he is the one to lead a charge, to see the positive side of things, that he was still just a kid. Just like Basil, Ken, or even her or Kirito, they were still kids. Yet for one reason or the other, they were here, fighting on the frontlines, risking their lives for the sake of others. But it didn't mean they weren't kids, kids who could get overwhelmed by the cruelty people are capable of.

They stayed together for a while, Asuna petting his head with a sad smile on her face and ignoring the slight tremble of his shoulders. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Basil open one eye and look at them, body tense before he relaxed and went back to rest. Because of her duties and the fact they were in different guilds, she didn't see the boys as much as she would have liked, but she was happy to see that they had each other's back.

After a few minutes, they let go of each other, going back to their seats. Natsu quickly tried to rub away the tears while Asuna acted as if she hadn't seen that or the small wet spot on her shoulder. They basked in the quiet of the usually busy waiting room of the KOB HQ, something she knew Natsu needed to come to terms with what happened.

"What will happen to Morgana?" he asked after a while, looking at her curiously, though he seemed unsure if he wanted an answer.

Asuna opened her mouth to answer but loud footsteps caught their attention, causing them to turn their hand to the nearest door. Stepping through was a heavily armored man that both young teens instantly recognized.

The uniform of the members of Knights of the Oath Blood was white armor with red crosses, similar to the templars from the Crusades. This man instead had red armor with white crosses. And if that wasn't enough for him to stand out of the crowd then the large shield he had on his arm and the sword stored inside it would be more than enough to gather attention to him.

The man itself was tall, muscular, the image of an ideal swordsman. He had sharp features and steel-grey hair giving him a slightly intimidating look. it didn't help that the man hardly changed his neutral expression, giving out an air of an unapproachable man. Despite that, he was highly regarded as one of the upcoming players of the frontlines, with the unique skill, Holy Blade giving him an edge that not many could rival.

The man in question stopped, looking around the room before spotting the two of them. Giving a nod to himself, he walked to them, both Asuna and Natsu standing up to greet the man.

"Guild leader." Asuna greeted him with a smile and a small bow.

"Heathcliff." Natsu greeted him with a simple nod, watching him with a little warily. He didn't have anything against the man, but whenever they talked a little voice in the back of his head warned him against trusting him. And after what happened with Morgana, he decided that following the advice of his instincts might be better for the time being.

Heathcliff nodded in greeting to his sub-commander and the leader of one of the strongest guilds in the game, his expression not changing at all. Natsu found that the most unnerving about the man, feeling like he was talking to an NPC and not to a human being.

"Asuna, Natsu." he addressed them, his grey eyes seemingly seeing through them, causing Natsu to squirm a little in place."I came to inform you that we placed the player killer Morgana is one of the lower-level rooms with two members of my guild watching over her, just in case. Though I doubt she could get through the room's locks and escape it's better safe than sorry." he explained, Asuna nodding along.

"I'll have the others form a rotating guard among the low-level members so the time they miss out on farming won't be too much, while still staying on the safe side." Asuna agreed with a hand on her chin, already thinking deeply about the issue. Natsu couldn't help but smile, he knew Heathcliff was a very charismatic leader, despite his worries about the man, but the one who really led the guild was Asuna most of the time. She had a knack for this whole administrating thing.

"Sorry for the trouble on such short notice." Natsu said with an apologetic shrug."Unfortunately, our mansion is not capable to function as a prison right now." he immediately felt depressed, who would have thought they would need prisons in the first place? Didn't they have enough trouble with the death game itself?"I'll talk with the other guilds and try to work out something where to hold our criminals. Because the worst thing is, I don't think she would be the last player killer we have to imprison."

"Agreed." the leader of the KOB nodded, deep in thought. "In the meanwhile, we will keep her under our surveillance. Though the existence of this Laughing Coffin is troubling, I find myself more troubled about an item that capable of rendering maps useless." he admitted, sending a questioning look to Natsu.

The brown-haired kid understood where he was coming from, other players, they could fight them, no matter how little they wanted to, but defending against something like that item would be hard indeed.

"I don't have all the details on that item, but assuming it has a limited range it's still very dangerous." he said, telling them what he learned about it from Arachne and Morgana."Unfortunately, there are more questions than answers. Not exactly what we needed after the whole tragedy that was the 25th floor." he grimaced as he was reminded of another information."At least we found the boss room." Heathcliff raised an eyebrow in question, wanting him to elaborate. "I already shared the map data with Asuna and I plan to have Argo circulate the info as soon as she can and plan for a strategy meeting. But I'm not looking forward to it." he shuddered as he remembered the undead giant that was waiting for them on the 27th floor. Not many people would be up to that fight when it becomes common knowledge who the boss is.

Asuna put a hand on his shoulders, squeezing it in reassurance. He told her with his brief second encounter with Ulrik and she remembered just as well the kind of massacre that boss did on the 25th floor.

Heathcliff only watched on with a detached expression, before nodding to himself as if he reached some kind of conclusion.

"I'll leave you to that then. Until we meet at the strategy meeting." he nodded both of them, before turning around and abruptly leaving the room much to both of their surprises.

"He is a little hard to relate to but he really works hard for our sake." Asuna apologized to him for her leader's strange behavior. Natsu only shrugged it off.

"I still don't like him." he admitted freely and smiled at the pout his big sister sent to him. He soon lost whatever levity he had as he looked over Roger and the two kids who seemed to calm down but it didn't look like they planned to move away from their little pile anytime soon. "I'm sorry to ask more of you but can you keep an eye on those guys. They went through a lot and I want to wait a day at least to talk with them about what went on." he requested.

"Sure." she agreed with a smile, giving him a hug that Natsu was happy to receive."Guess it's time for you guys to go home?" she asked. In response Basil gave a huge yawn as he got up and walked to them, giving a lazy wave.

"Agil will be worried until he sees us safe for himself, so yeah, we should be going." Natsu said with a small smile. "I'll talk with Buzz and Argo about the PKs and alert Klein so he could look out as well. Can you talk with Kirito so he doesn't get into trouble?" he asked in a teasing tone.

Asuna's face reddened in an instant, gaping at him. The last person who she would have thought to dare and tease her was Natsu. Slowly, anger replaced embarrassment and she sent a glare at him that made him hide behind Basil just in case.

"Ki-Kirito? Why should I-? To talk to that lazy bum- I mean I don't dislike him but he can be so infuriating- Just what are you grinning about Natsu?" she demanded her face resembling a cheery. It was always fun to tease her about Kirito since she got flustered almost every time.

Still hiding behind Basil, Natsu gave her an impish smile before he grabbed his friend and began to leave, still using the surprised blond as a movable shield. He waved to Roger and the kids with his free hand who looked perplexed at the strange behavior from the top players of the game while Asuna still fumed in her place.

"See you later Asuna-nee! Please say hi to Kirito from me too." he couldn't help but tease her one last time as he finally backed into the open corridor, abandoning Basil and running away, laughing all the way, much to the shock of nearby members of the KOB who never saw the famous Orange Blaze act so much like his age.

"Natsu!" she cried after him in embarrassment before she began to chase after him, further shocking those unfortunate enough to get in her way.

-0-

"Seems like your little sister was captured by the members of the Keepers of the Seven Rings." the leader of PoH observed with an indifferent expression.

He was in a large cave with the rest of the Laughing coffin. He was sitting in a rock formation that resembled a throne while the others were perched around on various columns or standing near the opening leading to the elaborate cave system that served as their base and fortress. Arachne was in the middle, kneeling on the ground, visibly trembling at disappointing her leader.

As if his words were some kind of permission nearby members began to jeer at the one who wanted to introduce the failure to their magnificent guild.

"Suck to be you, princess."

"What did you expect? If one is incompetent, the other one bound to be the same, no?"

"Can I kill her yet?"

The last one was asked by a man who's whole body was hidden under a cloak save for a skull mask on his face, the red eyes of the mask almost gleaming in anticipation. He fingered the handle of his weapon, a moment away from trying to kill Arachne. Despite the threats, the woman hadn't looked away, awaiting the decision of her leader.

All of them were silenced with a single wave from the leader who hadn't looked away from her, violet eyes boring into her very being. He then gestured to the man standing at his side who obediently stepped forward. He was a young man barely out of his teens, short black hair, and a positively deranged smile on his face. He had a small stature that made him look like a kid at first glance. He was playing with the knife strapped to his back in an absent-minded way.

"What is your assessment, Johnny Black?" PoH asked him, his powerful voice easily carried over everyone.

"Well, it's not like either of us thought that little girl would be of any use, so it's no real loss right?" he asked, shrugging his shoulder. "She didn't really know anything important about us, but we were able to test out successfully both the black portal and the jammer, so I guess the mission was a success, right?" he asked before his grin widened, making his face even more dangerous looking."But man, those high-level guys the real deal. It was such fun playing with them, I can't wait for the next time. The fire in their eyes, it really got my blood pumping, you know, boss man?"

"It had been the plan to eventually reveal ourselves to the whole of Aincrad, so it's not the end of the world. And since the original purpose was fulfilled, you won't be punished Arachne, but I won't accept a second failure. Do you understood?" when she nodded resolutely, PoH simply waved away the rest of his men."Then dismissed."

Some grumbling, some more eager to leave, the members of Laughing Coffin slowly left, broking into pairs or simply walking away on their own. Johnny Black mockingly patted Arachne's shoulder as he passed her, only smirking at the glower she sent to him.

"Arachne, stay back. I want to talk with you." PoH called back, prompting the black-haired woman to cheer softly with a blush on her face as she walked up to it.

"What do you need, PoH-sama?" she asked eagerly as she leaned closer to him. PoH remained expressionless before he gave her a small smirk.

"There was one thing in your report that sparked my interest. Tell me all you can about the Orange Blaze, tell me about Natsu-Kun." he laughed menacingly to himself as Arachne began to tell about her encounter with the famous guild leader.


	11. Level 11 A different perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little look to the others' lives both outside and inside the game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted this chapter to be a little special. Usually, I try to focus on Natsu and what happens to me, but now I want you once again to see what goes on in the rest of the world. In my typical fashion what I thought will be a small chapter once again grew into more than 10k. And it was hard to write, especially Episodes Nara, Buzz, and Ken with all those pesky emotions. After that, it was practically a relief to write about the structure and politics of the KoB.  
> This was actually the chapter I wrote to celebrate the story being one year old both in my mind an back at FF. Enjoy

**Level 11 A different perspective**

**Episode Verde**

Verde hated interacting with people who couldn't even imagine the brilliance of his intellectual pursuits, meaning around 99 percent of the population.

Still, it was a necessary sacrifice from time to time so he could continue concentrating on his work. He needed them to operate some of his machines, especially after he acquired this cursed firm, test subjects for a few of his experiments, and most importantly, though he inwardly (and quite a lot outwardly too) looked down on them, these unintelligent imbeciles were the ones who provided most of the necessary funding.

That's why he agreed when out of nowhere Sawada Iemitsu showed up, rambling something or other about his son. It seemed his offspring was stuck in some kind of virtual reality, an idea that certainly intrigued him, even if it was not his usual area of expertise, and the young lion offered to fund his research into returning his son safe and sound and then some more as an incentive, however long he needed. Safe to say he did not have to think about it for long.

The Vongola's money was not simply money, it was a prestige symbol. With their backing, he could work on several experiments that he deemed too costly or he could not find anyone who would fund it for him. Also with the thanks of the young lion of Vongola, a lot of opportunities that were closed before would open before him. Also, it could give him a lot of protection and connections. He essentially would have the same status as Reborn with nowhere near as many obligations.

He even went as far as to offer to look after his subordinate who he was able to send into the game, as a measure of protection for Iemitsu's son. Of course, it wasn't out of the goodness of his heart, having access to the boy and a firm connection to that game provided him with a lot of useful data, especially since the boy in question was also a flame user.

He figured he would solve this problem in a relatively short time, maybe delay it a little to get a little more funding out of it. Yet, despite his initial assumptions, he found himself bumping into obstacle after obstacle, and suddenly this little side project that he could solve in only a month at maximum turned into a high priority project that had him working on it for the last six months. And he was very excited about this development.

One primary reason why he invented so many things was that he craved challenges. With an intellect like his, he could easily become a leading expert on anything of he sat down and studied for a month at most, but it was simply not enough for the lightning arcobaleno. He wanted to feel challenged, to have a reason to use his intelligence to his fullest, and in contrast to his initial assessment, this little project from the leader of cedef proved to be one he could sink his metaphorical fangs into.

He had to give due respect to the work of Kayaba Akihiko. The man was a real genius, though he lost a bit of Verde's respect for his questionable choice of project, I mean all these groundbreaking achievements only for the sake of a game? Still, admittedly from what he could see from footage he caught of the so-called death game, it could be used for other, more intellectual purposes.

What he found really fascinating was Kayaba's masterpiece, the Cardinal System. It was an A.I. solely responsible for the management of the game, Sword Art Online, a magnificent work of art.

It was a work of art, there was no denying that. In the half-year since he poured his efforts into this project, he gained access to a lot of things, step by step. First, he sent Basil, Iemitsu's subordinate into the game then began monitoring his and the young lion's kid's status. Later he was even able to gain access to things like their location within the game, their equipment, and skill tree. Not all of them useful information but information regardless. About a month ago he was even able to gain access to a live-feed of the game, using the two kids' locations as a base. He learned a lot about their lives in the game, information that he provided to Iemitsu to show his progress and stop the man from bugging him daily.

But in the end, he still wasn't able to achieve his original objective. The cardinal system was very capable of diverting his attacks, its defense only strengthening with each failed attempt. He wasn't able to gain access to any essential systems, right now he could only observe and not interact with the game and even that ability was limited.

Verde was still delighted even with the failures since those contained many ideas that served well with other projects of his, as well let him add further defenses to his servers, something that he was sure was a bit overdue if the complexity of this cardinal was anything to go by. After all, it wouldn't do for the most intelligent person in the world to have substandard virtual defenses.

He was in the middle of sending another batch of videos containing the son in question for Iemitsu along with a few requests of his when something interesting caught his eyes.

For the past few weeks, he caught sight of small anomalies appearing inside the system periodically before vanishing soon after. They were surrounded by error messages and corrupted codes, something that should have raised the cardinal system's attention, prompting it to investigate and repair. Yet, for some curious reason, the system acted as if it hadn't noticed the disturbance. Like everything was how it was supposed to be.

On the other hand, he took an interest in it and carefully monitored it, trying to find its source. As far as he could tell the source seemed to be a player that was full of corrupted data, something he found fascinating. And now some type of item appeared in the game briefly, something that changed the very properties of the system around it.

He couldn't help but smirk as he began to type furiously, trying to find out how that mysterious player was able to manipulate the game from within. He cackled to himself in the darkness of his laboratory, after all, he loved a good challenge.

-0-

**Episode Iemitsu**

"Here is our report about the movements of the Graza family's recent activities." Lal Milch said as she handed a thick dossier to her boss with a strict, professional manner."Oregano also sent in her findings into the current situation in Madrid."

"Ah, thank you, Lal Milch." The leader of CEDEF thanked her in an absent-minded way, sparing a brief look at the contents before he put them down on his desk, where two other similar dossiers were waiting. "I'll look them over a minute." he said before he turned his attention back to the computer in front of him.

Lal frowned as she looked over her boss. Everyone in the organization was aware of what happened to his son, they had to work overtime to keep their enemies from finding out about it since in his worry Iemitsu was sloppy. They sympathized a lot, his son stuck between life and death almost literally, even though none of them met the kid in person, their boss used to annoy the hell out of them with his little Tuna's baby pictures, practically showing into their faces. Of course, all of them found the little kid incredibly cute but it was beside the point.

It was easily visible how affected the young lion of Vongola was. He lost weight, though it wasn't as noticeable thanks to his large stature, he grew a few shades paler and had perpetual dark bags under his eyes.

Still, he had a position to maintain, an image to uphold or their enemies would seize the chance to try and find a hole in the Vongola's armor. They had enough trouble with the sudden death of that arrogant brat, Federico, and with the Varia being as uncooperative as possible without actually betraying the Vongola, they simply didn't have the luxury not to have the head of the ceded's head in the game.

"Any info about the kid?" she asked from him quietly, watching as he suddenly stopped working. While others wouldn't dare to ask him, believing it would only hinder his work, Lal knew better. Bottling things like that wasn't healthy at all, he needed to talk with done one or it would be worse later on. He had enough trouble keeping the Family safe, worrying about his kid and subordinate trapped in that game, and also supporting his wife who stayed in Japan.

When one thought about it, Iemitsu was really something, balancing all of those responsibilities. If only he didn't have that goofy, hard to deal with personality most of the time.

"Nothing changed." he told her somberly before he forced a grin on his face. "At least he and Basil are still alive and well, and that's something. Verde told me he soon can get live footage sent to me so I can make sure he is alright." he quickly shook his head, trying to clear it. "But we have no time for it. We have work to do, so better concentrate on that." he told her and Lal heard the quiet dismissal in his voice.

With a mute nod, the failed arcobaleno left him to his work. For a few minutes, he was working silently, before with a sigh he leaned back on his chair, massaging the bridge of his nose. He looked forlornly at the photo on his desk, one showing him in his 'civilian' get-up, embracing a smiling Nana who held a little Tsu-kun in her arms, no older than four years old, who waved happily at the camera.

He was aware he spent very little time with his family, because of his work for the Vongola and the desire to protect them from the darkness from his life. But that didn't mean he didn't love them, to the contrary. Every day he worked hard because he wanted to provide them with safety and love. Yet here he was, his darling son trapped in a death game, a game he bought him because he wanted to alleviate the guilt inside him for spending so little time with him. And despite all he did, all contacts he used, his son was trapped for more than half of a year now.

Worst of all, he couldn't even stay and support his wife. How he longed to be with Nana, to help shoulder her burdens. Yes, he talked to her daily and provided all the help he could afford, but he was painfully aware of how little his support was worth in the end.

"Hang in there, Tsu-kun." he whispered to the photo and with a heavy sigh he picked up the dossier Lal Mirch delivered to him. No matter how much a failure of a father he felt he was, there was no time for mourning the past. He had a job to do, to guard the Vongola, the Family from all possible threats.

He could only hope that Verde could get his son out of that death trap so he could begin to mend his various mistakes.

-0-

**Episode Nana**

Sawada Nana hummed to herself as she was preparing lunch. The house was painfully empty most of the time but for the time being the burning of the pot and the sound of cutting helped easy that crushing feeling of loneliness.

Nana loved cooking, it was something that was always able to calm her down. It was associated with so many good memories, it let her just forget about all of her troubles and just be herself for a while.

She remembered as a little girl, learning how to cook from her grandmother and mother. She loved spending time with both of them. She also loved her father's face whenever after coming home from work he would sit down and eat her latest creation, praising her earnestly. That's where her love of cooking came from.

When she was younger she used to want to open a restaurant, to make delicious foods for everybody but that dream remained a dream. One of the reasons was the early death of her parents and she had to care for herself as a young adult and didn't have time for her childish dreams. Then she met Iemitsu and soon her life took a new direction, a direction which she liked very much.

When they started dating he took her to a few classy restaurants but as they spent even more time together, she began to cook for the two of them more and more. Iemitsu joked after he asked for her hand that one of the reasons he fell in love with her was her cooking. She laughed, but she nonetheless enjoyed cooking for the two of them, those romantic nights together in their new house. She began experimenting with many different foods, even trying out a few western dishes, much to his delight.

Then came the largest surprise of her life, her adorable Tsu-kun. She was young at the time, her whole life ahead of her, but none of that mattered to her. She fell in love with her little miracle the first time she felt him gently kick her from within. She was content to stay as a housewife with Iemitsu providing for them so she could stay and look after their beautiful son. The moment she first held him she promised she would do anything in her power to cherish and protect him.

She suddenly stopped cutting up the carrots before her as morose thoughts filled her mind. She didn't do such a wonderful job at that, did she? After all, if her son was protected and cherished as she swore to do he wouldn't have had such a hard time at school and he definitely wouldn't be trapped in a game that could easily kill him at any moment.

She looked over the kitchen counter into the living room where she could see a row of pictures displayed proudly. Confident that she could leave her place next to the boiling pot since it needed a few more minutes before any ingredient could be added, she walked over to the pictures, reminiscing a little.

The first one was a picture of her and Iemitsu on their wedding day. They seemed happy, blissful and she couldn't help the fond smile appearing on her face. The wedding was beautiful a nice blend of Japanese and Italian traditions that made it so much more memorable.

She looked at her stomach, knowing she was already pregnant with Tsuna, though that fact had yet to show at that time. Later on, many accused Iemitsu to only marry her because she got pregnant but the truth was they only learned about it during their honeymoon. And contrary to what many others believed her darling was very happy to learn of their little miracle.

She placed the picture back to its place before her attention moved to the next picture. It showed her little Tsu-kun as a very cute four years old, Iemitsu was holding him up above his head much to the little boy's delight. She was standing next to them, giving them the same fond smile she wore at this moment.

At a young age, Tsuna was an energetic child. He loved playing outdoors, always running and jumping around. He always tried to help her cook, looking at her making lunch or dinner, trying to peek over the tall kitchen counter with a fascinated look on his face. He was her little helper and even if there were only the two of them most of the time since Iemitsu had to go back to work, she never felt lonely.

She frowned as her attention wandered to the picture next to it. It was taken on the first day of elementary school of her little Tsu-kun. He was looked very fetching in the school uniform though he was shyly looking away from the camera, fingering the edge of his shirt.

As he grew up much to her sadness her son became a lot less energetic, content in staying up in his room, and amusing himself. While most kids were a little clumsy, they soon grew out of it, but unlike them, her son's clumsiness grew worse. It wasn't rare to see him walk home covered in bruises after falling a few times on the way home or get chased by a dog. He also didn't have many friends since he never invited them to their house or asked to visit one on the weekends or after school.

As the school years progressed he brought home worse and worse marks and people began calling him names. It went to the point she even heard that cursed nickname from other mothers while she went out to the market (and why did they call him no-good? Just because someone is not that good at academics and sports it's not the end of the world). She thought she could help him best by not saying anything, not stepping into his matters but silently support him that he could become whoever he wanted.

Despite her intentions, her son became more withdrawn, more reclusive, finding solace within various mangas and video games. It broke her heart seeing him smile less and less honestly, but she did her best to support and show him that she loved him all the same. Yet the distance within them seemed to become wider and wider despite her best efforts.

And then came that game. Nana instantly teared up as her eyes wandered over to the last picture. It showed her son, yet at the same time, it did not. Iemitsu sent it to her a month ago, something that his contacts who he asked to look into getting their son out of that game were able to show for their efforts. Though her son was still motionless on a hospital bed, at least she got proof that he was still alive, not alone by himself and for the time being happy. And that simple fact meant the world to her.

Her son wore some kind of armor with orange clothes. On one of his shoulders was a lion while he had a smaller cape hanging from behind him and on his back, there was a sword. And out of all of those strange things that were what she found most surreal. Her baby was never a violent person, he could hardly hurt a fly after all. Yet there was something in the way he stood, the way he held himself. Even though he was smiling and looked relaxed, she couldn't help but feel as if she was looking at some kind of warrior from the medieval ages instead of her little Tsu-kun.

He stood in front of some kind of rich-looking mansion surrounded by many people. The first her attention wandered to was the young boy with short black hair and black eyes smiling next to her son. She saw him many times since incidentally he and Tsuna-kun were placed into the same hospital, into the same room, they even had been on neighboring beds. He was Yamamoto Takeshi, Tsuyoshi's son, the man she befriended, two of them helping each other through this whole mess.

On the other side stood a young man with foreign features, short blonde hair smiling similarly. Both he and Takeshi had their arms around her son. In front of them crouching on the ground, was a young girl with shoulder-length blonde hair and whisker marks on her face, both her hands forming peace signs as she smiled broadly at the camera. She wore a cloak that hid most of her figure but she was clearly a girl.

To their left stood three older teens. One was a very pretty girl with long chestnut hair. She wore white clothing with red crosses on it, a rapier at her side as she smiled at her camera. There was another girl with some kind of maid uniform and short pink hair, beaming widely. Between them, trapped and looking uncomfortable was a black-haired teen a few years older than her son with black clothes, looking out of place between the colorful and happy girls.

It should have been a happy picture. Her son was alive, he was happy and most of all he seemed to be surrounded by friends. But all she could see that he was with kids his age, who also had parents deathly worried about them, and worst of all, all of them had weapons almost proudly displayed on their person. And seeing a kid with a real weapon was not something that any parent could bear.

A whistling sound tore through her reminiscing, making Nana hurry back to her cooking. Soon she once again lost herself in happier memories as she continued cooking. No matter how depressed she felt over her son's condition she helped nobody by breaking down and doing nothing else.

She was just finishing up when someone knocked on the door, and after a moment opened it too. She heard footsteps and looking to the side she saw two young girls walking into the living room. One of them was a bubbly girl with a kind smile and orange hair. Her friend, a young girl with long black hair wore a more disinterested expression on her face. Both of them had a couple of notebooks in their hands.

"Excuse us for intruding Nana-san." the bubbly girl called out, smiling widely at the older woman. Despite her earlier sad thoughts, Nana found herself returning the smile without a thought, the girl was just so bright it was easy to be happy around her.

"Kyoko-chan, Hana-chan." she greeted them as she turned off the stove and turned to them."How are you doing? Do you want some stew? I only just finished them." she offered them curiously.

Kyoko was about to cheerily agreed before the black-haired girl, Hana cut her off with a sigh.

"We would love to Sawada-san, but Kyoko and I have to hurry home since we have a test coming up tomorrow." she said with an apologetic tilt of her head, making Kyoko pout at the reminder.

"Um, I forgot about that." she admitted with a sheepish chuckle before she and Hana placed the notebooks down at the living room's table."We just came by to drop off the notes on today's lesson. Sorry, we can't say Nana-san."

Nana's smile turned sad for a moment before she covered it up and walked over to the girls. She met Kyoko around a week after the start of the whole SAO incident. While she saw the girl in the town before they hardly interacted with each other even if she was Tsuna's classmate.

She started coming around, asking about Tsuna's condition and generally a bright spot in her worry-filled days. After a month, where it became obvious that the trapped ten thousand people won't wake up anytime soon, Kyoko with the help of Hana began to write notes for Tsuna, so he could have an easier time catching up when, and not if, she declared whenever Nana acted more depressed than usual, he finally woke up.

"Thank you for that Kyoko-chan, Hana-chan." she thanked them with a kind smile, subtly chasing away her errant thoughts."If you wait a minute, I can pack you a little food." she offered and Kyoko was happy to accept it.

"I could never say no to your awesome food Nana-san." she said joyfully and even though Hana pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance, she made no move to leave. Nana knew she loved her food as much as the bubbly girl, but was too refined to admit it.

She waved them goodbye, as the two girls went their way home, holding small containers of food. She watched them go with a smile before she went inside the house. They were kind girls, who always managed to cheer her up just a bit. Grabbing the notebooks, she went up the stairs to put them away in Tsuna's room.

She stopped just short of entering, hesitating. She knew it was pointless, that the room would be empty but a part of her that desperately wanted this whole thing to be nothing more than a nightmare expected that she would find her son sleeping, or maybe playing some sort of game in the messy room, crying out in embarrassment as she stepped in. But when she finally gathered the courage to open it, she found the room devoid of Tsuna, painfully clean and empty.

The mangas her son used to leave on the floor were put on the shelves, the clothes he haphazardly threw everywhere were back in the closet, the few games he had lying around were put back to their proper place and the bed was made for once. It looked like nothing like her son's room used to be, making her heart clench in pain.

Nana carefully placed the notebook down to a nearby desk where a dozen similar notebooks lied, all made by Kyoko and Hana, the lessons Tsuna missed since the start of the incident. It was always a painful reminder that her son was laying in a hospital for almost half a year now, with her unable to do anything at all, only waiting for a miracle.

"Please, come home Tsu-kun." she whispered to the silent room, permitting herself this moment of weakness. "Everybody is worried about you, you will miss out on a lot of school work that will be hard to make up for, and" a single tear escaped her eyes even as she tried to smile as if her son miles away on a hospital bed could feel her sadness. "Mama is very lonely." she admitted to herself.

She stayed there for a few minutes before she forced herself to leave and go back to the kitchen. She began to put the rest of the food into containers, planning to drop a little off to Tsuyoshi.

The man was a brilliant sushi chief but he was hopeless when it came to everything else and she wasn't sure it was healthy eating sushi all the time. The first few weeks after their sons were put in the hospital she didn't feel like cooking at all and the man brought her sushi and urged her to look after herself more. Bringing him a little food now and then was the least she could do for her friend.

Her eyes stopped at a recipe book that she left on the counter. It was an old book, a little frayed on the side. She picked up the book with a fond smile on her face. It belonged to her mother, she used to teach her to cook from that. Opening it and flipping through it she saw that she tried already most of the recipes in it but there were exceptions to that.

She hummed in thought as she found an interesting one, something she hadn't tried before. It looked very hard at first glance and she was sure it wouldn't turn out all that great at first. But, if anything she had time.

"Maybe I should try a few recipes out." she hummed to herself in thought, a small appearing on her face. "So I could have a few new dishes when both of my boys finally get back." she said wistfully.

-0-

**Episode Buzz**

"This is a mess and a half." Kuyaku Suzaku, mostly known as Buzz nowadays sighed tiredly, trying to quell the incoming headache. Agil next to him could only smile in sympathy while he continued to drink his tea. Sometimes he envied his friend's saint-like patience.

Earlier the day Natsu, Basil, Biggs, and Wedge went into the 27th-floor dungeon to explore a little, in hopes of maybe finally finding the boss room. Well, they did find it after being trapped in the dungeon for hours, encountering an organized player killer group, even capturing one of them. And then they show up as if nothing happened just as he gathered a force equaling a smaller raid party to rescue them.

Just when he thought that reckless brat could not get any more trouble, Natsu goes and just about destroys any of his expectations. Don't get him wrong, he was worried as hell about the kids, but there were days when looking after them felt like it was more trouble than its worth.

"All in all, it could have been much worse you know." Agil spoke up after the silence stretched too long, giving him a pointed look since he took the time to chew Natsu out, even when he looked a step away from falling asleep while standing.

Buzz huffed but didn't say anything. He was very aware he was not the easiest person to get along with. He could be very blunt, oblivious to other person's feelings and if it came to it he could be a huge hypocrite. It didn't endear many people to him but it was also his personality that caused him to befriend Agil. When they first met, he visited his newly opened bar, a bar that was still in its infant stages, and criticized the place without the least bit of remorse. In response, the other man only laughed before he got him his order and then they began to talk.

His ex-wife was one of the few people who could handle and even like a civilized barbarian like him as she used to affectionally call him. He was thankful that they parted ways amicably, so he could still be part of his little girl's life even if he was a slightly washed-up programmer.

He knew Natsu and the others were capable warriors on their own and could look after themselves but they were still just kids. It just didn't sit well with him to see them fighting for their life while many people twice their age covered back in starting the city. It didn't help that when he looked at Natsu in particular he didn't see the famous Orange Blaze, a player that could easily give him a run for his money but the scared little kid who wanted to go with him and Agil back at the first day, fearing the thought of staying back even more than the dangers ahead.

"Still those items and tactics Natsu and the others encountered are worrying." said Agil after he saw that Buzz was not very interested in speaking."A PK group with access to these kinds of resources and an upcoming second round against that two-headed giant." he pinched the edge of his brow with an irritated sigh."Our problems are just piling up one after another."

"As long as no one makes another dumb decision like that idiot Kibaou we should be fine." said Buzz with a thoughtful look."With players like Kirito, Heathcliff, and Natsu working together it would be easy to stay in formation. And according to the kids, the boss's attack patterns were relatively unchanged. I look forward less about the possible talks involving the prison for criminals." he scoffed as he stood up and walked to the nearest window, looking out to the starless sky."Always hated politics, never thought I had to deal with something like that in a game. Much less be an active part of it."

Sometimes he wondered how it came to this. It just started with the three of them, Agil, Natsu, and him trying to survive in the game. Ken joined them not long and to this day it still worried him how he went from a teenager with slightly suicidal tendencies to Natsu's most devoted follower if you discounted Basil.

Then came the first boss raid and he quickly learned how reckless Natsu could be if they don't keep an eye on him. Of course, it turned out well in the end, saving the life of Diavel and even cementing his place among the forming cleaners despite his age but it was not the matter. It was the first of the many reckless and seemingly impossible tricks he would do, ensuring that Buzz aged at least a decade each time, worrying about that kid.

After that first came Basil, then Biggs and Wedge joining for good and their guild finally came together. Yet even as the guilds squabbled with each other, the large guilds playing their little games, he was happy to be as far away from it as possible. He was only interested in working toward defeating the death game, to get him and his friends out by surviving. He was the last person who would have thought they would in a few months become one of the strongest guilds and have to worry about things like image, training lower-level players, and forcing cooperation between egotistical idiots that made up the larger part of the frontline force.

"Well, politics aside, you should talk with Natsu tomorrow. I don't believe he was pleased to learn that he was not told about the PKs you and Argo were investigating." Agil commented with a fond smile, even if he also agreed when they decided to keep the kids in the dark as long as they could.

"The kid is still naive, not wanting to believe humans can be real monsters sometimes." he grunted in answer, still looking outside."I'm not apologizing for wanting to keep him out of it."

"You are unusually gentle with these kids. Any other time and you wouldn't hold back against a toddler." Agil observed, laughing when his friend turned to him with a betrayed look."You can't shield them forever. Sooner or later they have to face these challenges themselves."

"Maybe, but for now we are to help them along, aren't we?" Buzz asked with a raised eyebrow as he walked back to his longtime friend and sat back down. "After all, it is the job of us, older folk to guide and protect the younger ones." he stated as he opened his inventory, selecting an item. A moment later an unremarkable bottle appeared before him.

"Speak about yourself, I'm not old, I'm at the prime of my life." the ax user grumbled to himself as he pulled out two small cups.

Buzz decided not to say anything instead he poured sake into the cups, the two friends sharing a small nod before drowning it. Drinking sake in the game was nowhere near the real thing but one could get used to it if there was no other option.

"I know I can't coddle them forever." the spear user admitted after the second cup, staring ahead but seeing something else."Guess, I just want to help them along their path as long as I can, until my time runs out." he said, missing the narrowed eyes of his friend.

"You talk as If you are gonna die." Agil stated instead of asking. Buzz looked over his friend and gave an empty smile.

"I have no plans to do that. I have a beautiful little girl to go back to. But,' his eyes grew distant as he spoke, and Agil had the feeling he even forgot he was even in the room. "ever since this damn game started in earnest, I was plagued by this feeling as if I am living on a borrowed time. Guess I just want to do as much as I can before my luck runs out." he was silent for a moment before snorting to himself and poured a cup of sake, quickly drowning it."Look at me, talking about mortality. At least the sake should burn properly if it can't even make me a little tipsy." he changed the subject, laughing to himself.

Agil didn't say anything, instead poured both himself and his friend, and the two began to drink, staying well away from the topic of death.

-0-

**Episode Ken**

"Natsu's not up yet? Should I go wake him up?" Ken asked with a raised eyebrow as they sat down at the table for breakfast with the notable exception of their guild leader.

It was the day after that terrible incident in the dungeon of the 27th floor and Ken felt especially bad about not being there for his friends. He knew in his mind that maybe nothing would have changed if he had been there, he wouldn't have known about what dangers awaited them, still, it did not mean he didn't blame himself. He swore to have Natsu's back, yet when he needed his help he was nowhere near.

Biggs, Wedge, and Basil looked like they didn't get even a wink of sleep and he feared to think of how Natsu dealt with this who admittedly was the most sensitive emotionally out of all of them. All three teens were hunched forward, dark circles under their eyes as they barely paid attention to what was going on around them. He was about to stand up and go to Natsu's room when Buzz simply stopped him with a gesture.

"Sit down and let him sleep." Buzz said after he shared a meaningful look with Agil. He leaned back on his chair, looking disinterested at first glance, but Ken knew well enough that he was just as worried about Natsu as any of them."He went through a lot yesterday and you won't help him if you pester him right now. Trust me, telling him everything gonna be fine will be more of a burden than anything. He needs time to accept what happened, to get it in his head that he did the best he could do. Right now the best you can do is give him a little space." advised the older man before going back to his breakfast.

Ken frowned but did as told and went back to eating no matter how little he liked it. In his mind, he decided that nonetheless, after breakfast he would bring a tray of food for his friend so he wouldn't have to starve just because he didn't feel like coming out of his room.

Friend, that word's meaning changed for him since he met Natsu and joined their forming group. Back in the real world, he thought he was surrounded by friends. He was great at baseball, their team's upcoming star, everyone liked him and wanted to talk with him, praising him. But after he befriended Natsu, who he knew previously as the timid, no-good Tsuna from school, he realized how wrong he was.

Those friends of his were only interested in his talent in baseball, what he could do for the team, what his popularity could mean for them but none of them ever asked what he wanted to do, what he liked. Looking back on it, they just hang around him so they could brag about being around a talented baseball player. It made him sad, knowing that not one of them tried to look past the fake smiles he always gave ever since his mother died years ago, so he could mask the pain and sadness he felt.

Not with Natsu. He had an uncanny sense of when he was faking a smile and he would always send this small frown to him, not saying anything but silently disapproving all the same. When he joined their little group, at that time only consisting of Agil, Buzz, and Natsu he was surprised how they acted toward him, even Natsu who knew him at least by reputation before. They looked out for each other, even him, making sure everything was alright, helped him whenever he struggled with something or other. They were with him, whenever he could no longer fake a smile, missing his father terribly.

Natsu and the others understood him like no one before. They didn't crowd around him, didn't praise him endlessly for his talents. They covered each other in a fight, helped each other during training. They shared an ambition, to beat the death game, but it was more than that. They were a family of their choosing, and no family left one of its members to themselves.

That's why he stood before his friend's door, holding a tray in his hands. It was packed with Natsu's favorites, thankfully he was able to talk Basil into helping him with his little idea. He was aware that probably he could say nothing to help him, but Natsu was there for him countless times and even if all he could offer was a friendly ear to hear him out, he would do it.

He tried to open the door but it was locked. With a sigh, he began to knock on the door, aware that his friend should hear it, even if he was asleep for some reason. Yet after a minute he stopped, the door remained locked. With a sigh he ran a hand through his hair, trying to think of what to do.

"Natsu, it's me, Ken." he called out in hopes that he could persuade him to open the door and let him in."I know you skipped breakfast and you know it's not good for you even if it's just virtual food so I brought you some. Please let me in."

After a long minute, there was no movement and Ken began to feel disheartened. He was about to place the tray down before his door and leave Natsu to himself, respecting his choice when with an audible click the door opened, Natsu poking his head out, looking uncomfortable.

He looked horrible, even worse than the others. His hair was disheveled, sticking into every direction. He had dark rings under his eyes, he was pale and exhaustion was visible on his face. Most of all, for some reason he was still in his field clothes, that is he still wore his armor, though at least he did not have his sword on his back.

Ken chose not to say anything about his appearance, instead, he schooled his features and sent him a kind smile, trying to put him at ease.

"Can I come in?" he asked with a friendly smile, holding up the tray.

Natsu simply stepped away from the door without a word, letting him inside. Ken entered the room, looking around curiously. It was the first time he was in the guild leader's room since it was rare to talk without the others around and having their own room was just the privacy they all needed, no matter how well they got along. Of course, the mansion's capacity was being stretched thin with the addition of new players joining, but for the time being, they were able to provide all players a room of their own.

Natsu's room was large, certainly larger than his, though Ken found he didn't mind. He liked his room just the way it was, a large room like the one assigned to the guild leader would unnerve him unnecessarily. It was sparsely decorated which was understandable, they had enough things to do without trying to farm for materials to make decorations. Though he had to smile at how much orange was in the room, the color seemed to stuck with Natsu's image.

Ken placed the tray down the nearby desk before he turned back to Natsu who was standing in the middle of the room restlessly, trying to not look his friend's way. He was failing miserably if the fidgeting and unsure glances were anything to go by.

"Are you alright?" Ken asked softly, but the brown-haired teen remained silent. Not feeling disheartened by it, he took step toward him but tried not to spook him. Natsu's acting reminded him of a caged animal, trying to find a way out. "I know probably you don't want to talk about it, even Buzz told me to leave you alone for a while, but...if you need someone to talk to, I'm here." he offered with a small smile.

He understood that maybe he can't help but it didn't stop him from offering. Natsu was with him and helped him through the rouge times he had in this game, where his homesickness got the best of him, he lent him a sympathetic ear no matter what, even if he wanted to sleep, he stayed up all night because Ken wasn't able to calm down.

When Natsu didn't react in any way, Ken gave a sad smile before turning around and walking toward the door. He was about to open it when Natsu's quiet voice.

"I just didn't think it would be this hard." he whispered, sitting down on the edge of his bed. He didn't look Ken's way, he looked as he was somewhere very far away. Probably in the dungeon of the 27th floor, Ken thought as he walked back and took a seat next to his friend.

They stayed for another minute, Ken waiting for him to talk, instead of rushing him while Natsu tried to gather his thoughts. When he finally knew what he wanted to say, he turned to him, a lost look on his face.

"I know it wouldn't be easy." he began, clarifying his earlier words."Beating 100 floors, even with Kirito's optimistic estimation it would take 2 or 3 years at the very least. Yet so many died already during the first month before we were able to reach any significant accomplishments. It took half a year for us to get to one-quarter of the way and how many died until now?" he asked, pulling up his knees and lowering his head, hiding his face but he couldn't exactly hide his shoulders trembling.

Ken knew where he was coming from. It was horrifying how many people died out of the ten thousand who initially logged into Sword Art Online. The last time Argo talked about these numbers, it was around two thousand and three hundred. It was a horrific number for sure, especially when you factor in that they only reached the quarter milestone.

"Th 25th-floor boss was horrible," he continued, still not looking at Ken. "but I continued to fight. Because I wanted to believe that there is a way out, then even if one person survives this hell, it would be worth it. But after what happened yesterday...just what's the point of this?" he suddenly cried out, finally turning to Ken with tears falling from his eyes."Why would people decide to just abandon everything and kill other people? I just can't understand. The game is gonna get harder and harder, more and more people will die eventually, yet they chose to make things worse and turn against the very people who fight for them. I can't understand. Why?" he asked, heartbroken.

"I don't know." Ken answered honestly, placing a hand on his shoulder, trying to reassure him. "I have no idea what to tell you, I can only tell you why I fight on, even if the odds are against, even if our enemies become stronger, craftier, and more dangerous after every battle." he told him, looking straight into Natsu's eyes.

He thought about his father who must be worried out of his mind, thought of how much he missed him. He thought about baseball and the school's baseball team but even though he missed the familiar sport a little bit it was not such a defining factor. He thought about the comrades, friends he found here, the ones who gave him the strength to on despite the odds. He thought of Natsu, Basil, Wedge, Biggs, Agil, Buzz, Argo, and all the others with who he shared so many memories, good and bad.

"If there is a reason for me to go, risking my life every day, it would be you and the others. My friends." at his surprised look he smiled and explained."When I was down when I doubted myself you guys were there for me, encouraging and helping me. You saved my life many times, so I think it's the least I can do and repay the favor with having your back."

Natsu opened his mouth to object but Ken didn't let him, he wanted, no needed to say his piece. As much as for Natsu's sake it was also for his own. Natsu needed to understand that the hardships before them did not undo all that they achieved, that there was a reason he and many others chose to follow him.

"It's almost certain that things will be harder from now on, that's true." he told him, still giving him a confident look."But I think after we worked so hard, after we come closer to the end, stopping now just because the odds are against us would be spitting in the face of everyone who helped us. Everyone who fought the frontlines, everyone who helped out from the support class, and everyone who died until now. I think the best way to honor them would be beating the game and saving as many people as we could. Wouldn't you agree?" he asked from Natsu, but his friend could not answer, only look ahead of himself, deep in thought.

Having said what he wanted, Ken gave a reassuring smile to his friend and stood up, ready to leave him to think things through. He was about to step out when Natsu softly spoke up once again. Looking back, his friend a small, unsure smile on his face but looking less lost than he did a few minutes ago.

"Thank you, for talking to me." Natsu admitted, looking to the side. "I don't know how I feel about all of this just yet but you are right. We accomplished so many things by working together, it would lose all of its meaning if I just gave up. Thank you, Ke-Takeshi." he corrected himself, addressing him in his real name instead of the one he chose for the game.

"Anytime, Tsuna." he promised, responding with a smile. He gave one last wave before he exited his room, closing the door.

As he walked away, he was surprised to see Agil standing at the end of the corridor with arms crossed, giving him an amused smile.

"Good talk?" he asked, laughing slightly at the sheepish look Ken sent his way.

"I guess, I think he needed someone to tell him it's okay to feel bad, to feel scared about what happened." he admitted, the large man giving a simple nod before stepping away from his way, letting him leave. He promised to accompany Basil to the town to get groceries that they couldn't farm or just wasn't worth farming.

Natsu will be alright, he reasoned in his might. Despite his usually shy nature, he was passionate when it comes things that he believed in and he always worked to protect everyone. Everyone saw him as that larger-than-life Orange Blaze, forgetting that he still was just a little kid, trapped in a death game who despite the odd tried to do his best. But he will be alright because he had his friends, his guild at his side, ready to walk with him to the 100th floor and beyond, no matter the obstacles before them.

-0-

**Episode Asuna**

Throughout her life, Yuuki Asuna was demanded to act like perfection itself. A perfect daughter, a perfect student, a perfect lady. All she got was various expectations hurled her way. She couldn't reach anything less than 100 on her test, couldn't do anything unladylike, couldn't act her age but as a mature young woman, even as a ten-year-old and she definitely couldn't complain to either her father or mother, who excepted her to uphold the image of the daughter of the Yuuki household.

She was the perfect daughter but of course, it was not something praiseworthy, it was the less she could do. And even though she never spoke up, never disagreed with her parents, her tutors, or anyone in her life, a part of her longed to rebel, no matter if it was something insignificant, she wanted to do something for herself, not for the daughter of Yuuki Shouzou.

That was why, when her brother missed the opening of the long-awaited Sword Art Online because of a business meeting, she snuck into his room and tried out his NerveGear herself, so she could feel like a normal girl for once in her life. The irony of how far from normal her life became after that was not lost on her and though her life was in constant danger and she missed her family and all the annoyances that came with that, there was a part of her that thrived in this world.

She was initially devastated, losing all hope of getting out of the game alive. Until she met a strange swordsman who invited her to the first-ever boss strategy meeting. Later, as she met not only the strange swordsman who up to this day confused her with his attitude, she met many other exceptional players who she started to look up to in various ways. And finally, she seemed to catch the light at the end of the tunnel, began to believe there was hope for them all.

Of course, back then, it was so much simpler. Farm, level up, scout the boss room, gather a group to face the boss, and look out in case Natsu once again tries something incredibly idiotic, reckless, and strangely effective all the same when no one excepts it. That kid alone was responsible for putting a couple of gray hairs on her head.

Back then at least she didn't have to manage a bunch of adults bickerings like seven-year-old children on guild meetings, strategy meetings, and her life was clear of the politics that nowadays eat so much of her time. In times like these, she understood Kirito's preference for a solo lifestyle.

"Could we focus on more important matters for once?" she forcefully cut off, Uzula, one of the sub-leaders of their guild, who was busy complaining about finding it hard to organize farming fields for their middle to high-level members, while blatantly insulting to the other sub-leaders about not caring about the betterment of other players.

She was in an emergency guild meeting that Heathcliff called not long after Natsu and Basil left, making her scramble to assign a room for the three players who got caught in all of this PK business and were nowhere near the condition to leave right now. After that, she met Heathcliff and the other three sub-leaders in a smaller conference room, instead of the large hall where they usually met other players from outside their guild which had a much formal and stiff atmosphere.

It did not mean sitting in a smaller and slightly comfier room for half a day, spending it arguing was much better but at least it only involved the sub-leaders instead of the so-called upper echelons also involved which would drag out the meeting even more. She was a patient young girl but even she had limits.

Their guild's leadership consisted of the leader and founder Heathcliff and four other sub-leaders, including her. Heathcliff left most of the guild's management and administrative work to them, content to let them sort out any problems that arose. Despite being the leader of the guild, he had a very relaxed approach, acting more like a public head than anything else. Even during boss strategy meetings, he preferred Asuna leading instead of him. Though no one questioned his position as leader of the guild since when it came to fighting he was first in line, leading from the front.

Daizen was the head of finances, the one responsible for their funds and charge of supplying their members with equipment and other essential items. He was also the one who had contact with the merchant players, responsible for selling all unneeded equipment and other loot. He was a plump older man who always had a large, delighted smile on his face and despite being in charge of finances he was pleasant and altogether honest. Asuna could see why Heathcliff appointed him as the head of finances, everybody who talked with him even for a little could tell Daizen was a likable person.

The rest of the guild was sorted into three teams, teams A, B, or C. Of course each of these teams consisted of several teams but they were all in the leadership of one of the remaining sub-leaders. Team A was the scouts, those who usually were sent out to explore new floors, venture into the dungeons in hopes of finding the boss room, and even sometimes prodding the boss to discover its attack patterns before the official raid. Team B was the raid team, their members were the ones who usually trained day and night to be several levels higher than needed for any mid-boss or boss battle. They were the ones who made an appearance on boss battles, the elite of their guild so to speak. Last, Team C consisted of those who were not yet strong enough for the frontlines and were helped by the rest of the guild to catch up.

Godfree was the leader of Team A, an easy-going man despite his large and imposing stature. He jokingly called the men under him, the Vanguard of the KOB. He disliked conflicts and usually tried to find ways to make people work together. He might not have been the sharpest tool in the shed but he had a cool head, something that was a lot of help when Asuna had to try and keep people acting idiotic.

She was the leader of Team B, not much of a surprise since she was a core part of strategy boss meetings and boss raids long before the guild was formed by Heathcliff. That was one reason she knew why her leader preferred to leave many things to her. Despite her association with the beater Kirito, she was still someone very respected among the cleaners and many people were ready to follow her instructions without question. She felt a little flattered by it but she detested the politics that came with her position.

If there was someone she severely disliked in the guild it was the leader of Team C, Uzula. The thin, sickly-looking mace user came previously from the Kaiser Dragons guild, seeking to gain a position of authority in the newly formed guild. And while he was the leader of a large part of their forces, it was never enough for the man, always trying to gain more power, more men under his 'leadership'. He was annoying, looked down severely at her for her gender and age, and unpleasant all the same. His only saving grace was that he was somewhat competent and right now with the instability in their guild and the frontline as a whole, they couldn't bother with internal disputes.

"Enforcing the stability of our farming grounds is a very important matter." Uzula spoke up, sneering at her, angered at being cut off. Asuna held back a tired sigh, her head already hurting from all this nonsense.

That was one thing she did hate. The fighting over spots worth farming on against other players, most frequently the Holy Dragon Alliance who was not afraid to get a little rough with other players just to ensure that every spot worth hunting on was in their control. Uzula, being a former member of one of their founding guilds seemed to follow that same idea and always voiced his wish for them to be more proactive when new farming spots became known much to Asuna's annoyance.

She would have liked it if they took a page out of the Keepers of the Seven Rings' book for once. Despite their large numbers, they continued to send only small farming parties at a spot so they could farm without interruption and without blocking others from doing the same things. It was not the easiest method, especially with the HDA, Uzula's Team C, and other smaller guilds trying to force their will on others but they made it worth it. Of course, whenever Asuna suggested this, she was severely rebuffed.

"Uzula, you may not have heard of it, but today player killers attacked a party on the 27th floor, killing two players." Godfree cut him off with a frown. Uzula opened his mouth to speak up but silenced himself when he caught Asuna's sharp gaze.

A week ago they decided to look into the PKs happening on lower levels, letting Uzula lead that investigation that not so surprisingly didn't have any results. Even he knew better than to object and risk the Flash's wrath. Many people admired her beauty and strength, but the people who feared to anger her was equal at least to that.

"That horrible." Daizen said shocked, looking genially distressed by the news. "Was the attacked party ours? I also heard they had captured someone is that true?" he asked, looking at Asuna for an answer.

"There were two attacked parties, one from the Keepers of the Seven Rings and a not guild affiliated party. They captured one of the player killers and since they were short on time, at the party leader Natsu's request we used one of our lower dungeons as a makeshift prison." she explained. Godfree leaned forward, listening intently while Daizen looked even more distressed, reaching up and sweeping his brow with a handkerchief.

"Figures those losers couldn't even take on some scum like those player killers." Uzula sneered, he never quite liked the members of KoSR, especially Natsu. A moment later he cringed and looked away as Asuna's killing intent washed over him.

"It could have happened to anybody." Heathcliff spoke up, surprising the others. Their leader preferred to remain silent in these meetings."What matters is that we find a solution going forward. The day after tomorrow we will hold a strategy meeting between guilds, partially to talk about the PK problem but also prepare the boss battle since Natsu-kun and his group coincidently also found the boss room." explained the leader, leaning back on his chair and watching their reactions intently.

"He also said he would consult with Argo for a possible place to held the criminals for long term." added Asuna, when she saw Uzula ready to protest.

"Maybe we could demand a fee for housing such a dangerous person even temporally." mused Daizen with a hand to his chin. "After all, we have to account for the danger the guards who placed there could face, the time lost in their farming, not an unreasonable amount but still our effort should be rewarded." he mumbled, more to himself with the others. Asuna felt her eyebrow twitch in annoyance, Daizen was not a bad man at all but since he took his job as head of finances seriously, he tended to overlook things or simply focused on the wrong thing when it came to money.

"Why are you even thinking about money at a time like this?" objected Godfree, cutting off Uzula who was about to agree with Daizen if his heavy nodding anything to go by."We should be thinking about taking steps to defend our men from the various tricks the player killers deploy." Asuna truly appreciated having someone who genuinely wanted to help people in her corner if she needed to routinely deal with idiots. And many could be said for Godfree, being a little slow in the head was one of them but at least he had his heart in the right place.

Asuna withheld a sigh as she leaned back in her chair while Godfree and Uzula began to argue in earnest with Daizen not so helpfully contributing a few times and Heathcliff watched in silence. At times like these, she wondered how would a similar meeting go in Natsu's guild, and maybe she would have been better off joining them when it was jokingly offered to her.

As soon as the thought appeared in her head, she violently shook her head, trying to expel the thought. If she had so much trouble with managing to keep together and in line this guild, she didn't want to imagine how much work would it be to keep that reckless kid she sometimes affectionally called a younger brother out of trouble.

A small smile appeared on her face as she got lost in thought, thinking about how proper, perfect little Yuuki Asuna would react if she ever met Asuna, the Flash. She was aware that she had quite a temper to go along with her mastery of the rapier, something that naturally made many males around her wary of her. And as much her she missed her old life, her family, and that safety found in her normal, boring life, a part of her could help but flourish in this virtual world where it didn't matter whose daughter she was, it didn't matter if she didn't act like the perfect lady. She was free to be whoever she wanted to be, even if she was not always sure of who that person was.

She was Asuna, the Flash, Sub-leader of the Knight of the Blood, one of the most respected frontliners. She was friends with the black swordsman Kirito, the Orange Blaze Natsu, even the Rat were many dangers in this world, yes, but for once in her life, she felt she was free to follow her will. And despite her conflicted feeling about her life in the real world, she intended to use everything in her power to see the end of the game, together with her friends.

That reminded she had to repay back Natsu for teasing her about that good for nothing Kirito.


	12. Level 12 Surival of the Fittest

**Level 12 survival of the fittest**

"This place changed a lot since the last time we have been here, didn't it?" Natsu asked softly, feeling a little out of place as he and Buzz stepped away from the teleport gate.

Around them was a large city, seemingly abandoned at first glance. The large square was empty, only a few NPCs milling a little distance away, but no players lingered around. Despite this initial picture, this city was far from unpopulated, with almost four thousand players still claiming it as their home.

They were back where everything began. Where newly made avatars spawned for the very first time when this whole thing was nothing more than an innocent game. This was where Kayaba gave that ominous tutorial that changed everything. The front square of the City of Beginning, on the 1st floor of the floating castle of Aincrad.

"I think it's more correct to say that we changed a lot since that time." Buzz commented as they confidently began to walk, a moment later the teleport gate flaring up behind them once again. "we were the very few ones who never came back after the first day."

Natsu nodded at his words, thinking about the day everything started. Even before the first boss battle, they stuck to other small towns and villages, closer to the dungeon, instead of staying and feeling sorry for themselves. According to Argo, there was still a ton of players who had never left the confines of the city's safe zone, not even with other, stronger players accompanying them.

"But why do we have to come here?" he complained as he crossed his arms, not wanting to think about what would have happened to him if he didn't meet Buzz and Agil on the day of opening. "The least Kibaou could do is to meet us himself instead of forcing us to come to him." he continued to grumble, even as Buzz laughed beside him. Natsu made no secret of his dislike of the cactus-haired man.

"Because both Kibaou and Thinker pulled their guilds away from the frontline before uniting their guilds and they don't attend strategy meetings because of that. But this is a talk we better have in person." a voice said from behind him disapproving, making him cringe at the lecture.

Asuna stood behind them with crossed arms and a slight smile on her face despite her earlier words. She was standing confidently, and both Natsu and Buzz noticed that a few residents of the city came out and watched her in amazement. After all, aside from her proficiency as a fighter, she was also famous for her beauty and she was very well known among the lower level players than brutes like Natsu or Kirito. At least that was what Argo said.

"Yo, Asuna." Buzz greeted her flippantly, not at all intimidated by the girl who could cause grown men to fearfully back away when she was stuck in one of her moods. It helped he had almost two heads on her and generally very few people could unnerve him.

"Hi, Asuna-nee-chan." Natsu on the other hand greeted her with the most innocent and adorable face he could muster. In hindsight maybe he shouldn't have teased her about a certain black swordsman a few days ago since the sub-leader of the KoB was known to hold grudges for a long time. She still yet to forgive Lind, the leader of the HDD for his treatment of Kirito and other confirmed beta testers. Though he didn't disagree with that.

"You guys are as easy-going as ever. You should act more befitting of your positions instead of acting like a pair of vagabonds." she scolded them though her playful smirk took out the sting off most of the words. "Especially you Natsu, a guild leader should project a more confident image." she said turning to the young boy who gave a good impression of a deer caught in a headlight.

Before he could say anything in his defense a pair of arms wrapped themselves around his neck protectively as he felt a slender body pull itself close to his and a head resting itself on top of his. If this whole situation was not familiar enough, the barely suppressed snicker on Buzz's face told him more than enough information on the identity of the person hugging him.

"What did I tell you about bullying my adorable Na-kun?" the voice of the whiskered informant rang out about him as she unsuccessfully tried to mold their virtual avatars into one being. "Only I can do it, Asuna-chi, and don't you forget it. Na-kun is mine and mine alone. " she declared proudly, talking about him as if he was some object.

Natsu blushed in embarrassment and tried to wiggle out of her grip to no avail. Despite having a much larger strength Stat than the Rat in question he was still unable to break out of her grip even if he should be able to in theory. That just goes to show that while the world mechanics were ruled by their stats there were curious exceptions to the rule.

"Argo, why do you have to do this every time?" he asked timidly, trying not to look at Buzz who was slowly losing the battle to hold back his laughter. Though he protested her frequent habit of draping herself over him, both of them knew it was more of a token effort.

"Why because I just love that little surprised sound you make whenever I do this." she admitted without the slightest amount of shame or embarrassment even as players who wandered over began to look at the commotion she was causing.

If possible Natsu turned even redder and Buzz finally lost his battle against the laughter that threatened to escape and began to guffaw loudly. Before the young boy could deny or agree with Argo's words she continued without mercy.

"Don't tell me, my little Na-kun found a new girl to focus his affections on? How cruel fate is to have fallen for the charms of a playboy like you." she wailed in mock sadness. Though he didn't see her face he knew she had a Cheshire-like grin on her face." And after all of those nights, we spent together, just the two of us. Do those passionate memories mean nothing to you? "

Natsu immediately paled as he realized what Argo was referring to. This sent Buzz through a new wave of laughter that causes him to have trouble staying upright. On the other hand, Asuna's face went through a very scary transition from a used to annoyed and finally furious.

"T-That's not true. At least not the way you think." Natsu hurriedly tried to explain himself to the brown-haired girl, waving his hands around frantically."Well, it was the two of us, but we weren't doing anything we were just talking, talking, I swear."

It was true, that when she chose to spend her nights at their mansion they frequently spent a large portion of it in his room, just talking. Argo was one of the very few who never really treated him like a kid, even if she teased him all the time. She was honest with him and they both found someone who could listen to whatever silly thoughts came up in their heads and needed to went it without fearing to be judged for it. But that was the extent of it, save for one instance when they fell asleep on his bed and Ken woke them up, only to find Argo spooning Natsu whose face was so red that they seriously feared he would boil then and there.

Before he could take control of himself and try to explain himself calmly, Mount Asuna finally erupted something that was in a long time in the making.

"Argo!" she cried out, eyes glaring at the information broker accusingly. While most times Argo was unflappable, for once even she looked taken aback. "I had it with you stop corrupting Natsu-kun. I won't let you make him into some kind of pervert." she shouted, not caring about the players around them.

"Ara? And what about Na-kun corrupting me?" soon Argo regained her normal, mischievous expression and she lowered face next to Natsu's and began to nuzzle it much to his embarrassment."Thanks to him I can no longer sleep peacefully without cuddling to him."

'Please, kill me.' Natsu thought desperately, as Asuna gaped at them, feeling the last of his dignity evaporate into thin air.

"Okay, enough of playing around." Buzz said after he laughed himself out thoroughly, ending the young boy's misery. He reached out, grabbing his collar and pulling him out of Argo's grasp."Alright then, calm down. Didn't we have a job to do here, instead of fooling around, Asuna?" he addressed the younger girl after the rat relented with only a bored sigh.

The famous Flash of the frontlines gave a body-wide blush as she noticed the curious players looking at them. She opened her mouth but closed it a moment later, not finding her voice. Thankfully, the sudden flare of the teleport gate saved her from trying to defend herself.

A young man around Asuna's age or maybe a year younger stepped out of the teleportation gate, wearing the familiar white and red armor of the kob. He looked around frantically, his face brightening as he spotted his vice-leader who gave out an annoyed sigh at his appearance then began to run towards her.

"Asuna-sama, please don't take off without warning, what could have happened if anyone attacked you?" the young man asked as he stopped before her and began to collect his breath as he obviously ran from wherever he came.

He was a little taller than Natsu, with short blonde hair and blue eyes. He was pretty, more in a cute way than handsome, a two-handed greatsword of high quality resting on his back. It was player-made if he wasn't mistaken, Natsu recognized the work of Liz who provided a large part of the KoB's and their own guild with equipment since her work was the most reliable among smiths.

He had good equipment but it was clear after one look at him that his level was lower than any of the other present frontliners. Natsu and his friends tended to have several levels above the recommended level of the current floor, while this teen was barely hitting that recommended level if he was not mistaken.

"Who would be able to attack me in the middle of a safe zone? I'm not about to accept a duel or anything like that." Asuna argued, crossing her arms over her chest, glaring angrily at the young teen who surprisingly didn't back down.

"It's even more reason not to move alone, Asuna-sama without even one guard since those people who hunt other players couldn't be trusted to think logically." he argued with passion. His words would have made some sense if he was not noticeably weaker than his charge.

Natsu and the others watched on with amusement, the young boy glad to not be the center of embarrassment for once.

"Who is the Puppy, Asuna?" Buzz asked with a raised eyebrow, cutting into their conversation.

"P-puppy?" the young teen asked back, indignant at first but as he recognized Buzz, who was a well-known frontliner himself, he visibly shrunk back a little.

While he may not have a nickname, like Kirito, Asuna, or even Natsu, Buzz was still a well-known and respected player. Not to mention many lower-level players found them to be larger than life because of all the rumors about them and the fact they usually found themselves in the thick of it, in almost every boss fight. So it was understandable that the young man was a little intimidated by Buzz.

A lot of people revered, admired, and even envied the members of the so-called old guard, the sadly diminishing number of veteran players who were fighting since the 1st floor. Natsu had gotten used to the various expression he and his friends got whenever they ventured to lower floors, even met with newly joined frontliners.

Argo began to cackle madly at the very apt nickname, while Natsu sent his way a polite smile, silently apologizing for his friends' behavior. Since Argo, Buzz, and even Kirito tend to act rudely, because of that, both Natsu and Asuna had to act polite, despite their personal feeling most of the time to mitigate some of the damage the three of them can unknowingly or knowingly in Buzz's case, cause.

Asuna sighed as if the whole world was on her shoulders, the brown-haired guild leader could sympathize with her. She gestured to the young knight, who couldn't seem to decide to be either incredulous or nervous.

"This is Climb, he is one of the members of the guild group under my direct command. After the incident you had in the labyrinth, Heathcliff decided that we shouldn't move alone since if this laughing coffin is brave enough to attack you guys, they could attack anyone, anywhere. And since I usually travel by myself or you guys, the other sub-leaders argued they should place an escort with me, hence Climb here. "she explained with a huff.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Climb seemed to find his voice after his introduction, giving a low bow to the other high-level players before he turned back to Asuna."Please understand Asuna-sama, it is not your abilities in question that made the other leaders assign me to you but by yourself, you could be overwhelmed or simply led into a trap so everyone thought it would be better to have someone with you." he explained through by the end he looked a little uneasy, sending cautious glances to Buzz and Argo, and even to Natsu a few times.

Natsu could understand what he truly meant by the last part even if he didn't like it. A lot of the players at the KoB and HDD guilds were still in a mindset of hating beaters, even in leading positions. And while Kirito chose to shoulder this burden by himself, for the most part, thanks to idiots like Kibaou or Lind, even Buzz and by extension, their guild still got a lot of mistrust. It was annoying but it was also a fact of life they had to accept for the time being.

"I hope you didn't mean to insinuate that we couldn't protect Asuna if anything happened." Buzz said with a sharp smile, less forgiving towards idiots with less than 3 brain cells as he called the beta haters.

"He really wouldn't," Argo cut in with just as sharp of a tone, eying Climb with a glare that for once contained no mirth as the young man began to fidget in place. "after all, our very own Orange Blaze could be offended by the distrust in his skill, which could even lead to worsening relations between two leading guilds." she let the end ominously trail off, making him even more nervous.

Natsu knew both of them well enough, to see both Buzz and Argo mouth quirk up in suppressed smiles, confirming that they were messing with Climb. And while he accepted his fate to be eternally teased, mostly by Argo, he wanted to spare others from such fate, so he spoke up.

"Please, stop teasing him, before he faints." he said in an annoyed tone, sending a disapproving look to Buzz who failed to hide his snickers."Let's go to the meeting, I personally want to be as far from Kibaou as possible before the day is over."

Climb's shoulders sagged noticeably at the knowledge he didn't anger the leaders of a sizeable part of the clearers with his careless words, whose Argo cackled as she tightened her grip on Natsu.

"My, my, Na-kun, when do you get so mature? If you aren't careful you gonna break the hearts of young girls everywhere you go before long." she noted with a large grin on her face as she continued to cuddle with the brown-haired teen.

"Let's just go, please." he pleaded as he once again remained unsuccessful in trying to escape the information broker's grip.

-0-

"That egotistical idiot, he should be flattered that we still trust him to do anything after the stunts he pulled." Asuna said angrily as she stormed out of the Black Iron Palace, the building the Aincrad Liberation Army or the Army for short used as their headquarters, the other trailing behind her, with Climb almost running as he tried to keep pace with her.

The few people who were in her way wisely moved away without a sound as soon as possible, not wishing to invoke the anger of the famous Flash.

The others were also annoyed or frustrated in various stages. Buzz was calm on the outside but those who knew him knew he was fuming, Argo was listing all the ways she could ruin Kibaou under her breath, and Natsu who was jokingly called a Saint of patience as frowning as he also left.

"Asuna-nee, please calm down, it's not worth getting mad over something we knew could you are scaring the others." Natsu called out to her, pointing at the poor players still in the visible range, trying their best to blend into the background. They were players who probably never left the city of beginning and with Asuna further scaring them, he doubted it would change anytime soon.

Asuna stopped, turning to Natsu, her face still flush with righteous anger and she opened her mouth to snap back at him, before she looked around, took a big breath, and tried to calm down.

"You are right, we expected this but it still doesn't make it right. That pompous... Argh, I don't even know what kind of low-level degenerate he is." the auburn-haired girl gave a sigh, her shoulders slumping in exhaustion. In response Natsu patted her shoulder, smiling encouragingly at her.

While they were aware of Kibaou's personality, they were hopeful that the other leader of this newly formed Army, Thinker could rein in that cactus haired loudmouth. Unfortunately, while Thinker was a more rational and pragmatic man, he didn't have the charisma that Kibaou seemed to have, so his words had a much lesser impact than Natsu's group would have liked. It led to Kibaou pompously making demands of them for making a prison for orange and red players out of the Black Iron Palace, such ridiculous demands that had Asuna lose her infamous temper and leave angrily after verbally tearing Kibaou a new one. Natus would have lied if he said he didn't laugh at certain parts of the tirade.

"We all know that he is only blowing hot air out of his mouth." Argo chimed in after she calmed down."None of his ridiculous demands will be accepted, and he will be thankful for what we offered at first. Unlike him, Thinker probably is well aware that it's us who are doing them a favor, not the other way around."

The others nodded in agreement, save for Climb who looked around confused and a little lost. Deciding to help out her subordinate, Asuna began to explain the politics behind the information most people knew.

"Right now the Army as it's now called, barely even exists. The losses on the 25th on Kibaou's part, many players leaving on both sides of the newly formed guild, and the sheer loss of prestige from retiring from the frontlines left them basically crippled. Their guild is supposed to stand for the weaker players, those who stayed behind, but right now they can't even support their members. They cannot afford to refuse this duty with the promised small but for them still significant contributions from major guilds." she explained briefly, the blond teen making an impressed sound in response before furrowing his brows once again.

"I understand why they should accept, housing the criminals but why were they offered in the first place? Is there something special in the Black Iron Palace, couldn't our guild or any other do the same thing." he asked curiously.

The others looked at each other at his question, before giving a collective sigh. In the end, Natsu was the one who decided to explain the ugly truth.

"In one word? It's politics." he admitted with a sigh."While Lind would like nothing more, both Heathcliff and I know that if any of the frontline guilds got this job, especially a major one like the holy dragon alliance, the carefully crafted balance between the guild would be destroyed, creating further problems for us. Among us cleaners, there are too many individuals too many people who like to think they know better to let just one take the lead and decide anything for us. Not to mention no leader among us could pull off taking control without causing infighting. Heathcliff could be one" he said as he saw Climb open his mouth in protest before continuing." but he came too late for us veterans to simply accept him and he stays out of the general public too much. Kirito may be a candidate but he is still viewed largely as a beater and too much of a loner."

"Not to mention, we couldn't afford to pull out any competent players from the frontlines in the name of guard duty." Buzz added with a nod to himself."Better to give it to guys who actually could spare the people for it."

"That is also true. Honestly, we wouldn't have to make so many precautions if we knew anything concrete about the limitations of the unknown teleport item they have on their hands." complained Asuna with a tired sigh. Since Heathcliff tended to rely on her when it came to contact with other guilds, the past few days were mentally tiring for the young girl.

"I see." Climb muttered, though he still had a little lost look on his face. Natsu wasn't surprised by this, while he got used to the whole politics the guild leaders were required to take, it was a little surreal to anyone seeing it from the outside.

The whole politicking must have been one of the reasons for Thinker to pull back, he mused to himself as they continued to talk among themselves, heading for the teleport gate, he was too honest and naive for his own good. Not that he wasn't but he had the advice of Argo, Agil, and Buzz to work with. They also had different goals. Thinker concentrated on helping lower level players while Tsuna and his friends concentrated on beating the game as soon as possible with minimal casualties. In the end, MMO Today's retreat was inevitable.

"I hate politics." he declared miserably, even though he was well aware that his guild did a lot of good while working together with the KoB and smaller guilds if he could, he would skip that part of his life. Asuna and Buzz, having a similar mindset only laughed at him.

"Don't worry Na-kun, I will protect your innocence from meddling old men." Argo giggled as she once again gobbled the brown-haired boy much to his embarrassment.

"Geez Argo, at least don't say so easily misunderstood things in public." Asuna scolded her, pointing at a group of players near them who looked away, flustered. A moment later they stopped, having reached the teleport gate."Guess, it's time to split up. Unfortunately, I have still a lot of work to do, not the least to organize the boss meeting and raid for tomorrow." she added, looking a little tired all of a sudden.

"Heathcliff really works you to the bone. It's like he is only guild master in name." Buzz commented with a frown on his face. Asuna smiled tiredly but didn't comment on it.

"Anyway, see you guys tomorrow. Hopefully, the raid will go down without problems and Kibaou gets off his daydreams to see reality." she laughed softly at the disbelieving looks sent at the last part by Natsu and Buzz, waving them one last time before walking into the gate.

Climb hurriedly followed her but quickly stopped and giving a deep bow to the three other frontliners.

"It was an honor to meet you, Natsu-dono, Buzz-dono, Argo-dono. I wish you best." he said respectfully before running after Asuna, not wanting to be left behind by his charge.

"Cute kid." Buzz commented with a snort as the two members of the KoB disappeared in the light of teleportation."I give him a week before Asuna gets fed up with that whole bodyguard thing and she loses that legendary temper of hers."

"I want to disagree with that but Asuna-nee doesn't handle very well being told what to do. Guess, it's lucky that Heathcliff generally so hands-off in enforcing his will." Natsu laughed with a little nervousness as if expecting Asuna to appear, sensing that they were talking about her. He was distracted when a little icon popped up, notifying him that he got a private message.

"Well, let's not talk about Climb in front of Ki-bou or he may get jealous." Argo giggled to herself as she was in no hurry to leave."Better yet, be sure to mention him, I wanna see his reaction."

"Where is that guy nowadays? He shows up from time to time but then disappears for days. I know he is a solo player and a loner but the last few weeks he stopped even coming around." Buzz asked with a raised eyebrow. While it could not be said he got along with the silent Kirito very well, but he certainly respected him as a player and even as an acquaintance.

Natsu would have liked to know that too, since he looked up to the black swordsman, in part because of their similar fighting styles, and in part because he found himself able to relate to the reclusive teen who preferred to stay out of the public eye so to speak. But he was distracted by the message sent to him, so he spoke up, diverting the subject.

"Ken just messaged me. He said he and Klein found a lead on the Laughing Coffin." he told them, and both of their faces reflected his own surprise. While they decided to look into this whole PKer thing, none of them thought they could find anything after such a short duration, since that group managed to stay in the shadows up until now.

"What does it say?" Buzz said, shaking himself out of his shock. Natsu once again looked at the small window opened in front of him.

"It says they found someone who could give us information about the PK guild. He said to come to a restaurant on the 14th floor." he read it out, both Argo and Buzz humming in thought."I wonder what's going on?"

"Well, we will never know if we are not going right?" the information broker threw in with a large grin. Let's see what they found." she cheered, thrusting her hands above her head, before turning around and heading for the teleport gate.

Behind her Natsu and Buzz shared a look, giving a synchronized sigh.

"I'll send a text to Agil to not expect us to be back just yet. Can you send one to Asuna so she will not be surprised if we have to hold an emergency meeting between the guilds?" Buzz asked, the young teen nodding before quickly tapping the window in front of him.

A moment later, both of them sent a message off before stepping into the teleport gate and disappearing from the 1st floor.

-0-

"Yo Natsu, Buzz, Argo." Ken waved at them with a smile as the three of them neared the restaurant where Ken's message said they were sure to meet. Despite smiling, it was clear for them that Ken was tense and ready for a possible fight even in a safe zone, as evidenced by the hand on his sword.

"Hey, Ken." Natsu was the first one to speak up, looking carefully at his friend, trying to spot anything wrong or amiss, while Buzz stayed back surveying the area carefully. Argo slipped into the restaurant, using her stealth skills to make sure everything was alright in there too.

Ordinarily, something like that was not necessary, after all, they were in the safe zone, but this PK business put them into paranoia. After all, if they have items that can block maps, teleport items that nobody ever heard of before, Buzz reasoned, they shouldn't let their guard down for the time being. Of course, Natsu felt that Buzz tended to go overdrive with his paranoia sometimes, while Argo mostly egged him on.

But it looked like he deemed things clear because he walked next to them, looking at Ken with interest.

"Everything alright? Did you guys run into any problems?" he asked, raising an eyebrow when the katana user bit back a grimace.

"We did run into a little trouble and had a few close calls but we are fine." he said, not meeting either of his friend's eyes before he turned serious. "But more importantly, we may just found out the location of the Laughing Coffin's base and an attack they are planning on the frontlines." he told them, both Natsu's and Buzz's eyes widening in surprise.

One of the largest disadvantages of being an orange player, other than the fact that you obviously killed someone, is that an orange player could not enter a city, the guards will attack on sight, and even if someone made it into the safe zone, they are quickly chased down and thrown out. It made things harder, like buying weapons, supplies, or even renting a room so the player could sleep somewhere safe.

It made sense for the PKers to stick together, strength in numbers, though they had no idea how many of them were. They made care to hide their faces whenever attacking in case anyone survived to tell the tale but from the information Argo could find, they estimated that at the very least there were ten orange players. And as Basil commented once, there could be green players like Morgana who also worked for Laughing Coffin. That meant any reliable information was valuable since they were essentially in the dark.

Not to mention an attack on the frontlines. Before that, they stuck to the lower levels but it was not a good sign if they were getting more confident. The current frontline didn't need the added worry created by them, to the point that even information about the attack on Natsu and his friends was restricted to the upper echelons of the large guilds for the most part.

If the information was accurate, that meant they could suppress this whole PK movement before it could do any real damage to their work at reaching floor 100 and clearing the precisely because of this, despite trusting Ken's word, both Natsu and Buzz remained a little skeptical.

"How did you learn of this?" the older man decided to ask, his eyebrows furrowed in thought.

Instead of answering, Ken simply inclined his head toward the inside of the restaurant. Understanding what he wanted, they followed him in.

The restaurant a rather simple restaurant, in a distinctly European style that seemed to fascinate a large part of Japanese people. It was rather small, with only a few tables and a couple of booths where they could serve costumer. At the counter an NPC, a rather bland looking older woman was standing, obviously waiting for them to approach her or take a seat.

Only one table was occupied and it was that one they went to. Argo was already there seated, with her hood up, waiting silently. Natsu couldn't see most of her face but she seemed to be frowning, which was not such a good sign in his mind. Next to her sat Klein, who tried to appear to be carefree but it was clear to see that he too had a lot on his mind.

Dynamn was also there, the unofficial vice-leader of the guild Fuurinkazan and the one who usually reigned in Klein when he made too much of a fool of himself, at least according to Buzz. He looked up from the table as he noticed them approach, sending them a small wave with a smile that felt rather forced. Natsu gave him a nod but soon turned his attention toward the occupants of the table he didn't meet before.

One of them was a teen who was probably a year or two older than him. He was tall, probably a little taller than Ken who was one of the tallest in their age group, had a little out of place white, spiky hair. He wore a simple vest over normal clothes, and by the presence of a rapier at his side, Natsu supposed he did not need any more armor. He was carelessly lounging in his chair, watching him with purple eyes as if he was some curious sight, creating a slight unease in Natsu. It was nowhere near what he felt around Morgana but he felt there was more to the teen than one would first think.

For a moment Natsu thought he was someone he met before, there was that sense of familiarity that he couldn't place but he soon shoved the thought away. He would have remembered meeting someone with such an out of place hair color, even if it was because of in-game hair dye.

He turned to the last member but was quickly taken aback when he found a venomous glare staring up at him. Most surprisingly, it came from a girl who was even younger than him, maybe by a year or two than him which was quite shocking. He felt a little nervous, he never was great with speaking to people who he didn't know, females especially and the glare she was sending him was not helping matters.

She wore simple but high-leveled armor with a single dagger hanging from her belt. She had light blue hair, similar to Diabel, that reached just below her shoulders, a sea shell hair clip keeping it away from her face. She had equally blue eyes and looked somewhat cute if not for the glare that sent shivers up his spine. She was also short, like even shorter than him, who was one of the shortest people in his class.

But the most glaring feature about her was the orange icon hanging above her head.

Orange players, players who committed a 'crime' in the game. It could range from harassment, attacking others outside a duel, stealing from other players to outright murder. Depending on the weight of the crime and if the player didn't commit any other in the meantime, it would fade and become green in time.

But with the appearance of the organized PKers, one other term appeared among the players. The red players. Players who killed others for the sake of killing, who could never regain their green cursor without a special quest. Red, like the color of the blood they shed.

It was poetical in some way but Natsu could only feel sadness at the fact that there was a need for a term like that in the first place. You would think common sense would dictate that people cooperate with each other and not start randomly killing others.

He was pulled out of his thoughts as Buzz, who looked completely unaffected by the girl's glare walked up to the small group and glared back at her with a frown.

"Who are these brats? And how did you bring an orange player into the city?" he asked without bothering with any tact, as usual.

"You do know Basil, Ken, and I are the same age, right? Are we brats as well?" he found himself quietly muttering, not excepting anyone to hear him or answer.

As predicted, the young blue-haired girl immediately stood up with a furious expression and began to shout at Buzz, while pointing at him, a bit childishly, in Natsu's opinion.

"Who do you think you are calling me a shorty midget brat? I don't want to hear something like that from an old man who is probably half a step in the grave already and probably was born before colored television was even a thing." she began to rant, only stopping when the white-haired teen placed a gentle hand on her head, forcing her to sit back down.

Natsu felt a sweatdrop form as the girl ranted, thankful that she at least didn't actually swear, though she came pretty close to it. He didn't even want to know where that response came from. But, a moment later, his thoughts turned serious, Buzz did have a point. Orange players can't freely enter the cities because the NPC guards would stop them. More importantly, why would Klein and Ken bring an orange player here, to meet them? It didn't make sense.

In the end, Argo spoke up, who was quietly keeping an eye on the two unknown kids the whole time.

"It's not very well-known but an orange player could enter a city if they are in a full party and they are the only non-green players in it, though the NPCs would still not reach positively to their presence." she explained quietly, looking at the teen who continued patting the girl's head to calm her down.

Natsu sent a look to Klein, who allowed a small smile to appear on his face and shrug his shoulders as if saying 'what can you do?'

"Aside from that, can someone explain to us what's going on?" Natsu asked, wanting to diffuse the situation, especially seeing Buzz's eyebrow twitch in annoyance. He never had the patience to deal with others, that was largely the reason why Natsu was nominated to be the guild master.

The white-haired teen chose that moment to speak up, turning to Natsu with a smile that looked genuine yet still managed to unnerve him.

"Yo, my name is Byakuran, nice to meet you. This one is Bluebell, don't worry she's harmless." said harmless girl grabbed the hand that patted her head and bit into it, though Byakuran didn't lose at the smile, even as he began to use his other hand, trying to pry Bluebell off of him."We are former members of Laughing Coffin." he added carelessly, no longer paying attention to them.

At his words, both Buzz and Natsu stiffened while Argo slowly cursed under her breath. Ken wore a stiff smile and Klein began to laugh nervously, especially when the rat pinned him down with an unamused stare.

Buzz, who looked the most calm out of the new arrivals, turned to Ken with a deadpan expression.

"I thought it was only Natsu who got into idiotic trouble like this. but he was with me the whole time What's your excuse?"

"Hey!" the aforementioned teen cried out in indignation, though he couldn't help but admit that Buzz had a point. He did not have the best track record when it comes to staying out of trouble.

"It's kind of a long story." Ken said with a forced laugh."It all started when Klein wanted to come to the 14th floor..."


	13. Level 13 The Adventures of Ken and Company

"It's kind of a long story." Ken said with a sheepish laugh at the questioning stares of Natsu, Buzz, and Argo.

At the table, the newly revealed former laughing coffin members' presence didn't help matters at all. The girl, Bluebell was still glaring at them, at Buzz in particular while Byakuran was looking at them as if he was watching his favorite TV show. Klein was no help either and Dynamn was obviously indicating that his guild, his responsibility.

"That makes me hear it even more." Argo commented with a sweet smile that never failed to bring a shiver to his smile. He may have faced down various, frightening bosses but none scared him as much as Argo did. Natsu was very lucky or unlucky that the Rat was too busy teasing him to put the fear of Her into him

This was the last time he chose to hang out with Klein by himself because for some reason he was the only one in trouble

-0-

Earlier that day

"You must be really bored to come here visit little old me." Liz commented with a teasing smile as she stood next to her newly acquired shop's forge, finishing the one-handed sword she was forging. Ken sat not much far from her watching her work with interest."Nowadays I only hear from you guys when you need new equipment or need an upgrade and even then it's rare for one of you guys to come down here to the 19th floor."

"Sorry about that, Liz-chan." he apologized, feeling a little sheepish.

It's not like they stopped visiting their favorite blacksmith intentionally. But Liz preferred to stay and work on lower floors, only occasionally coming close to the frontlines when she needed some ingredients and she didn't want to ask them for it, while they worked tirelessly on farming and beating the game as fast as possible. It left little time for themselves, so visiting Liz just slipped out of their mind. Especially since it was only one or two of them at a time who went down to her if they needed anything.

"Nah, don't sweat it." the pink-haired blacksmith waved away his apology without a moment's pause. She finished the inspection of her work and with a pleased smile she placed it down the table, before giving Ken a large smile."A lot of things have changed since the first days when both of us were starting out. You guys are now big deals, I can't expect you to always have time to visit me. So why were you left out from whatever the others were doing?" she inquired as she sat down next to him.

"Natsu and Buzz are going to the 1st floor to negotiate with the Army with Asuna. Agil took out the new members to farm for equipment, while Basil, Wedge, and Biggs went back to the dungeon of the 27th floor, along with a small scouting group consisting of DDA and KOB members to make sure their info is correct after all the mess that went down." he explained to her, the smile never leaving his face.

"Then how come you are not with Basil's group?" Liz asked with her head tilted to the side. Ken, for all the easy-going guy he was, he was especially in his element whenever he was fighting. It was just like he was playing baseball, a very scary version of baseball he claimed.

"Basil group was needed to be a small force for some reason, it was specified how many people each group can send. It made more sense to send those who encountered the boss already from us. For Agil group, too many high-level players would make it harder for the new guys to grow, or something like that, so I was left behind." he explained, not losing his grin for a moment.

Liz chuckled as she heard him before a mischievous smirk appeared on her face she wasn't as much a tease as Argo but she enjoyed poking fun at the boys' expense from time to time. Natsu was a prime target but Ken and Basil could be fun to fluster occasionally.

"And you couldn't go with Natsu because you are rubbish at negotiations and that stupid smile on your face would only piss someone off." she said, though her laughter took most of the things of her words. However, she was surprised when Ken only laughed at her.

"That's exactly what Buzz said when I asked to go with them."

Liz watched him with a large sweat drop, wondering if he really was that naive and clueless or he was just that good of an actor. Either possibility scared her.

Shaking her head, deciding to file this thought at the never thinking about it again category, she sent him a genuine smile, changing the subject.

"Well, it's nice to get visitors from time to time. As much as I love working in the smithy all day, even I got lonely sometimes. Since you guys are busy I understand you could only visit so much but other than you Asuna is the only regular who visits and chats with me. And even then she mostly rants about that Kirito guy. Wonder why." she said, giving a conspirational wink at the end for good measure.

Ken blinked in surprise. Their little group was close-knit since they all worked together frequently, that the fact that Liz had yet to meet Kirito surprised him.

"You know this is kind of funny that you have to meet Kirito. Though he is pretty much a loner so it's rare to see him outside of boss meetings and fights."

Liz only smirked at him, shrugging her shoulders to show she was not very much bothered by it. Considering Kirito did not have the best reputation and Asuna's opinion of him changed frequently, it was not that much of a surprise.

"Don't worry, I heard so much about him from all of you, I probably will recognize him on sight alone." she said with a large grin as she turned away from Ken and opened a menu in front of her.

Ken tilted his head in confusion, feeling as if a lot of people laughed out at that moment for some reason. A moment later, he shrugged to himself, deciding it was better to put it behind him and never think of what it meant.

They fell into a comfortable silence, Liz doing some administrative work or something like that, while Ken simply humming to himself. Unlike Natsu, who would constantly hound himself, not liking to be idle, he liked these quiet moments. There was no point in constantly running himself ragged, but there was a need for the time put aside for simple rest, even if their bodies were in truth just a bunch of zeros and ones.

It was a trick he learned from his baseball coach, though it was also something he tended to forget most of the time. The body, as well as the mind, needed rest. If he tried to force himself to perform at best, without taking breaks between, sooner or later he would crash and burn out. That's why, knowing things wouldn't get any easier as they continued to get closer to the 100th floor, he did his best to appreciate his time off.

Of course, as per the eternal rules of the universe, the moment that thought rang through his head, the front door of Liz's shop opened, and then the bell placed on top of the door gave out its recorded sound, alerting them to the arrival of customers.

"I'll be out front in a moment." she called out as she closed the menu in front of her, and stood up, dusting her clothes in a reflex, even though in this virtual world there was no such thing as dirt or dust.

She looked at him in question and he simply shrugged before standing up and following her outside the counter. He had nothing to do right now, simply waiting for someone to tell him that they needed help or something like that.

Giving him a fond shake of her head, Liz opened the door leading out of her forge, a blinding, practiced smile on her face that became a necessity to keep her business booming. Not to say she didn't usually smile but she had more honest smiles reserved for her friends, something Ken could understand very well.

"Welcome, to Lisbeth's smi-" she froze for a moment as she looked at her potential customer and her smile quickly was replaced by a deadpanned look as she recognized him."What do you want?" she asked plainly and Ken struggled to hold back the snort that tried to escape him.

In front of the counter stood a scruffy looking man with bright red hair and a bandana and red armor that resembled the get up of a samurai. The katana at his side further enhanced that image. He was looking at the various displayed items on items before they entered and while he looked up at a wide smile initially, now he looked like just a kicked puppy.

He was the leader of the guild fuurinkazan and one of their closest friend and ally, Klein.

"Come on Liz-chan, that's no way to talk to a customer. And I was planning on buying new weapons for the guild but after a treatment like that, why should I?" he asked her, through the slight grin on his face told them he wasn't serious at all.

"I would talk respectfully to proper customers but you are anything but that." she challenged with a grin as she made her way behind the counter, leaning down on her elbows."You can't even purchase in the name of the guild, since Dynamn is the one who controls your finances and it's always him who delivers bulk orders like that."

"She got you there." Ken voiced as he walked to them with a smile."It's pretty well-known that you are banned from the guild finances."

"You guys are so mean to me." Klein said, visibly deflating. Liz and Ken looked at him but soon lost the fight against the laughter and both of them burst out, laughing at the antics of the red-haired man. Klein looked up with a grin and soon joined them.

A few minutes later all of them were wheezing from the last vestiges of laughter. Finally calming down, Liz looked up, hand reaching up to try and wipe away the tears from her eyes but before she could they simply disappeared into small polygons, the system automatically destroying them.

"That was good. I needed it." she commented as she turned to Klein with an honest smile on her face. "So what do you need? I mean usually, it's Dynamn who orders from your guild so I'm surprised to see you here, alone." she said, looking over his shoulder, seeing no one else.

Ken also listened on curiously, since it was unusual to see Klein alone. He was almost always accompanied by one of his friends, guildmates. He didn't know why that was, either they didn't trust him or simply in this deadly world they stuck close to others but he could understand the feeling. After spending the start of the game completely alone, surrounded only by his morose thoughts, he knew it's better to be around friends you could trust.

"Ah, about that." Klein sheepishly scratched the back of his head before pointing at Ken who blinked in surprise."The guys are waiting for me on another floor but I came looking for that guy."

"Me?" he asked a little dumbly, pointing at himself. Not many people knew he came to visit Lisbeth, come to think of it he only told it to Agil when he left with his group, leaving him alone in the guild mansion.

"Figures. One of you visits me once a while, you guys immediately find something else to do. I see how it is." Liz said with a sigh, though the smile she tried to smother was still easily visible."Go on then, boys, off you go." she made a waving motion with her hand.

"Come on Liz-chan, it's not like that. Klein didn't even tell what he needed me for." Ken said, playing around as he pleaded with her not to kick them out.

"Sorry about that. I promise to make it up for you somehow." apologized Klein sheepishly before addressing the other katana-user in the room."Agil told me where to find you. I and a few of my guys from the guild are about to move out and we could use your help."

"What for?" he asked back, intrigued. While they frequently worked together, it was more because they shared the same goal and coordinated with each other, it was rare for Klein to ask for help specifically. Liz also looked interested, despite how nonchalant she tried to act.

"Since those player killers mostly operate on lower levels I decided to take down a group that I trust to face off against them and drive them off if they think for a moment to attack us." Klein declared passionately, a fire burning in his eyes that honestly worried Ken. Klein was a good leader and not a bad fighter at all but he tends to go overboard. "What do you say, Ken?"

The answer was pretty simple at least for him. Looking at Liz in question, he saw the smith smile at him and gave a shrug, silently telling him to go ahead and not worry about her.

It's not like he disliked these peaceful moments, but life in this virtual world made him used to constantly fighting. For the past few months, he was always doing something, training, farming, exploring new floors, or fighting floor bosses. Even when he wasn't fighting he was still doing something most of the time.

Doing nothing, when he knew some of his friends were fighting just didn't sit well with him. So it was not a surprise what his answer was.

"Sounds good." he answered with an eager smile, hand reflexively closing around the handle of his trusty sword.

"Alright then." the red-haired man cheered, slapping Ken enthusiastically on the shoulder, causing his smile to turn a little forced."Let's get going then." he declared as he began to herd out the teen out of the shop.

"Wait, Klein. What's the hurry?" Ken protested as he tried to turn back and apologize to Liz about taking off but she simply waved them goodbye with a small smile on her face.

"Don't worry about that, go and teach those idiots a lesson or two. But you are not allowed to get hurt, understood?" she called after them as the two frontliners stepped out of the shop.

"Thanks, Liz. After we kicked these Laughing Coffin guys' butt we should hold a large party for us. We would round up everyone, even that loner Kirito and we will have a good time. I promise." Klein called out as he finally left with Ken struggling to keep up, leaving Liz alone in the shop.

"I'll hold you to that." she whispered to herself, losing her smile and placing her hand on her chest.

It was always hard, seeing her friends leaving, ready for the next battle. It's not like she was not brave enough to fight at frontlines but unlike Natsu, Ken, or Asuna who found themselves shining and even somewhat enjoying fighting for their life, she found a much better joy in working on her smith skills and she found a fulfillment that her weapons and armor that she made for them contributed of them staying alive and bringing all of them closer to the end of the game.

And maybe, just maybe, when this is all over when they awake in the real world, they could have that party, all of them.

-0-

"Could someone explain to me again, what are we doing here?" Ken asked with an uncharacteristic frown as he started to once again fidget with the crappy armor he currently wore, which was at least ten levels lower than what he was using usually.

It wasn't even his own. Sentimentality in Sao was not something that was heavily encouraged, it got you killed if you stuck to a piece of equipment just because you liked how it looked, so they routinely sold or broke down into materials the equipment they no longer had any need for it, so when Klein told him out of the blue he needed low-level equipment he was in a hurry to buy them. Aside from offering a lot less protection than his usual gear, it was also uncomfortable since it was well-known that you needed a few uses to get used to any new armor, to break them into shape, despite having nothing but virtual bodies.

Even the sword at his side was one he hadn't used before and felt clumsy and unbalanced in his hand. It was a quirk of his that he didn't feel like a blade was usable in combat until he had at least made one thousand practice swings with it. Even then, no katana truly felt fitting in his hands, not even his current one.

To this day, he was still searching for the perfect sword for himself.

"That's easy. We need to blend in, so we don't look out of place in the lower levels. We'll be totally unassuming, so when those pkers try to ambush us, bam, they got floored. They will be like 'What? They supposed to be weak!' It will work for sure." Klein enthusiastically explained, punching into his open palm.

Ken sweatdropped as he watched the manchild:s antics. He genuinely liked Klein, he was fun to be around, bringing much-needed levity to their already stressful lives. The only downside was that his presence forced everyone else in the room to be the voice of reason to balance him out.

"Klein, not to ruin your fun but you do know it won't work right?" out of the small group, it was Dale who decided to ask to most pressing question and was proven right when the guild leader's face fell."We are too well-known among the players to be able to pull off incognito that easily."

"Not to mention, declaring to everyone that the fuurinkazan came to the rescue." Ken decided to add, referring to the scene that Klein caused when they arrived on the 14th floor."They also encountered Natsu before, so doubtlessly they researched our guilds, so no use hiding our identity."

The next moment they found Klein facing the wall, banging his head into it repeatedly as an air of depression hung around him. Dale, the two other members of Fuurinkazaan, Syrukko and Monroe looked at him but their faces told Ken that it was an everyday occurrence with the roguish looking samurai.

Shrugging to himself, deciding that it would make no sense to stop and change in the middle of a dungeon while they could still handle the mobs easily. Instead, he looked at the two players he was introduced to in the morning when he met up with Ken and Dale.

Syrukko was a tall man, in his twenties with long blonde hair that he kept in a ponytail and a pale complexion. He was also very thin, so he looked somewhat comical waving around an ax that was almost as large as himself. Beyond that, he was a pleasant individual though he preferred to stay silent and watch their antics with a small smile.

Monroe on the other hand was a dagger user, a thief by profession, he claimed. He had black hair and a large beard. He was around Klein's age, a friend of his from another MMO they played together and just as boisterous and enthusiastic as the aforementioned samurai.

"As if anyone could forget that ugly mug of yours. That plan was doomed from the start." Monroe laughed even as Klein slumped forward, even more depressed.

Seeing this, admittedly comical interaction, Ken decided to break up the fun and remind them of the reason they came here.

"We are already in this gear, so no use crying over it. Instead, let's continue our search. Who knows, maybe we will find the Laughing Coffin's base." he joked in the end, trying to keep up the air of levity they had going.

As if a switch had been switched, Klein was up, giving him a sparkling smile along with a thumbs up, his earlier gloom forgotten.

"That's the way to think, my man, Ken. You are proving yourself to be a very promising apprentice." Ken didn't have the heart to tell him that out of the two of them it wasn't him who unlocked the katana skill tree first.

Dale shook his head, feeling exasperated, Monroe began to laugh merrily, even Syrukko gave a soft snicker.

"Just think about it, if we find their headquarters before anyone, no one will doubt the power of our guild. Ha, take that Kirito, I surpass you for sure. And then, everyone will acknowledge what a handsome and pro-gamer I am, and I will get a girlfriend at long last." and with that, Klein was once again lost to them as he descended into his frequent daydreams.

"Hai, Hai leader-sama." showing just how long he had known the samurai, Dale began to gently push him forward with a resigned expression, so they could at least move along."Before that, we first have to find them, so let's get going."

As a comfortable silence descended among them, Ken reflected on his thoughts about the peculiar members of Fuurinkazaan. They were a fun bunch to be around, their generally accepting personality made them easy to work with. He didn't have the kind of synergy with them that he had with Natsu and Basil, where they didn't even need words anymore to know what the other was planning but he would trust Klein and his friends to watch his back anytime.

"What's the plan anyway?" he asked in the end, since they had to hurry and find 'appropriate' gear, the members of the fuurinkazaan forgot to tell him what they planning besides going to the 14th floor and finding a lead on the pkers.

Klein opened his mouth to explain but in a trained, cohesive move, Syrukko grabbed his arms to stop him from struggling while Monroe put a hand in front of his mouth, to prevent him from speaking, while Dale turned to the younger teen after giving a thankful nod to the two of them.

Honestly, Ken was a little unnerved how they used to these kinds of things.

"The plan, which is not really a plan if I'm truthful is to go around the dungeon a few times while keeping an eye out to other parties and possible pk attacks." he gave a wry smile even as his leader continued to struggle. "Honestly, I kind of doubt we will find anything but simply our presence will have a huge effect on other players which is a plus in my book."

Ken nodded, he thought it was something along these lines. Despite their focus on the Frontline, most of the guilds tended to make their presence known in small ways on the lower floors, to help keep up morale and maybe occasionally recruit up and coming players.

"Makes sense." he said with a smile as he casually began to walk forward, ignoring Klein who was still not released.

"Let me go already." Klein cried out as his friends only laughed at his struggle.

None of them realized how much they would wish these carefree moments back in a few hours.

-0-

"That place does bring back memories." murmured Dale as they walked in the dungeon of the 14th floor, a large castle, its rooms filled with various monsters that seemed to be modern renditions of old Japanese folklore.

While they were very overpowered for this level, they had more crappy equipment than what was their usual, and also this simple fact could do nothing to stop a monster to get lucky and land a killing blow if they got careless. So, even though they probably could have acted less cautious, they remained alert and ready to fight at a moment's notice, especially with the threat posed by the laughing coffin. That did not mean there wasn't a comfortable air around them, born from experience and confidence, thanks to fighting at the frontline all the time.

Klein led them, with a large grin on his face, looking for all intents of purposes like a man without a care in the world. Syrukko and Monroe walked behind him at a relaxed pace, alert but not acting overly worried. The formation was closed by Ken and Dale who opted to stay in the rear and watch their backs.

Ken hummed at Dale's words, though he doubted he addressed him, more like talking to himself. For him, he didn't have many memories of this floor, especially the dungeon. At that time, the cleaners practically blazed through his floor, the dungeon discovered and mapped in two days at max and soon they gathered and defeated the boss with ease that made a lot of them more confident that they should be, floors like this leading eventually Kibaou's stupid idea of facing a boss, the 25th with just his men.

The Keepers of the Seven Rings did not really participate in the clearing of this floor, since it took little time and at that time, when they were still a small guild consisting of seven players, they were sidetracked by a quest chain while trying to farm for material to raise the level of Buzz's spear, along with Biggs shield. Thanks to that, they didn't spend much in this dungeon, only marching through it once when they arrived for the boss raid.

He stayed silent, content on letting the others speak and fill the silence, instead, he looked around, inspecting the dungeon.

In rather sharp contrast to the latest dungeon he visited, the 27th or most dungeons he visited in the course of the game, this place was not dark, dreary, or suffocating. The rooms, even the hallways were large open, the colors bright and, dare he say inviting. There were also a lot of windows with sunlight pouring in, even though he was sure they must have been deep in the dungeon. That was the wonders of virtual reality for you.

"Doesn't this look a little strange for you guys?" Monroe spoke up looking around warily, prompting everyone to stop and turn to him curiously. "I mean, when did we ever see a boss dungeon this deserted?" he asked, opening his arms, prompting them to look around the large room that was empty even of monsters, since they just dispatched them.

He had a point, Ken mused. From his experience, these dungeons always had at least a few people in them, farming, exploring, and even if they didn't meet there were a few signs that showed they were not alone.

One of them was the respawning of the monsters but another glaring evidence was in the light. In most cases torches or the like, in this case, it was the light coming from the windows. If no one was in the room, the room stayed dark, even in this dungeon, and only lighted up if players were entering it. After they left, the system would keep up the lighting for fifteen to twenty minutes before they darkened again. And one thing they noticed since entering the dungeon, all of the rooms were initially dark as they entered.

It didn't look good and even Ken tensed, his hand falling on his, admittedly poor quality sword as he looked around warily, excepting an ambush from anywhere. The members of the laughing coffin already proved they were beyond some of the basics rules of the game or at least knew of loopholes that even Argo was not privy to.

In the end, it was Syrukko who broke the tense silence.

"I don't think that's it." the usually silent man stated as he relaxed his stance, pulling his hand away from his weapon. "That's perfectly natural, for a boss dungeon to be abandoned like that." he stated, the others looking at him in question.

"What do you mean by that? I never saw an already discovered dungeon, especially a central one like that this abandoned before." Klein asked him, though despite his doubts he also relaxed, his trust in his subordinate absolute.

Ken also looked at the tall, sickly-looking man, a little more reluctant to simply relax because of the many experiences telling him not to lower his guard.

"The difference is that is not a frontline floor, not anymore. More than that, the frontline is more than ten floors away, so the only people on this floor are the ones who chose to live here, the mid-level players who started the same time as you but moved much, much more cautiously, so they were left behind and new players who are more confident and try to fight more tough opponents for quick grinding." he explained to them, folding his arms in front of his chest.

He talked as if he was lecturing them, so much like some of his teachers that Ken's attention began to waver for a moment, thinking of those peaceful days when all he had to worry about not sleeping through class and baseball. He shook his head, chastising himself for not paying attention.

"I don't understand. The central dungeon always had stronger enemies than almost anywhere on the floor and a source of a lot of good equipment and experience." Monroe asked, tilting his head."And they also have access to the map data we made while going through it first, it's the perfect training spot."

Instead of answering, Syrukko shook his head before looking to the side where a pair of lizards with strange, elongated necks just respawned, but Ken was sure from the look on his face, he saw none of that, deep in memories.

"You are wrong." he stated quietly, the others straining to hear them."I started later than all of you, I was a mid-level player before I finally was able to join the guild so I know very well what's the situation. Most players who stay away from the frontlines are out in the fields four 4 or 5 hours at most, instead of ten to twelve that is the average for the frontline." he informed them and Ken had to blink in surprise. He never thought they were working hard compared to other players, but twelve for his guild was a minimum at most days when they had no other commitments."They simply don't have the mental fortitude to fight for so long. Add to the time spent walking to and from here, it's just not worth enough for them to come out here to farm. Not to mention, most people prefer to continue to fight under-leveled enemies so they would be in minimum danger. Not to mention, the map data that Argo contributes for a low price by our estimation, a little on the pricy side for most others, so not many consider it worth it if they level well enough in their eyes on other, smaller dungeon. The only other reason for them to rechallenge the boss which would be a good goal but mid-level players are just now organized enough to gather a boss raid." he explained, turning back to them, whatever emotions overcame him disappearing from his face.

Ken hummed in acknowledgment, head tilted to the side. He never gave too much thought to how different the life of a lower-level player could be. He didn't think it was any different but according to Syrukko, it was because of a stark difference in mentality. He wondered what it would be if he didn't stick to Natsu and joined the first boss raid but he could even imagine doing anything differently now, after half a year spent in here, fighting for his life.

From the looks the others sent they were thinking of similar things, all of them were veteran frontlines, maybe not since the first floor like his group but if he remembered they were a constant fixture since the 4th floor.

"Well, you know more about this than us, so I take your word for it." Dale said, giving a nod to the ax user."That said, no sense in standing around and doing nothing, we should move on."

"But is there a point in being here if there is no one around?" Ken felt he needed to ask, to remind them of the original reason they came here. "After all, if there are usually no players in here, I see no reason for the PKers to stick around." he reasoned.

Dylan shared a look with Syrukko who shrugged with an apologetic smile while Monroe could only quietly laugh at their fortune. Meanwhile, Klein, who also realized what the other katana user was talking around, was devastated.

"Do you mean to say, we walked all over here, made it around the middle of a dungeon, for no reason at all?" he asked from them with despair as he sank to his knees. It was understandable, they spent a lot of time getting to here, only to realize a lot later than it was for nothing.

Before anyone could answer the leader of fuurinkazan, the sound of steel meeting steel rang through the mostly empty room, followed by a frustrated shout.

All of them stopped what they were doing, tensing as they strained their ears to listen. A moment later, they heard it, the sound of fighting reaching their ears. It was coming from the direction of one of the hallways and they would have missed it if they were fighting against monsters or talked louder than they did. But thankfully, they heard it and all of them knew what it meant.

Ken, his face showing no emotion, looked up, and meet Klein's eyes. The normally jovial looking man's face was devoid of his smile, his mouth turned into a grim line. There was not a moment of hesitation as he understood what Ken was asking silently and he gave a nod, giving his permission.

The next moment, Ken was running toward the direction they heard the sound, Klein on his heels, Dale and the others quickly following, completely ignoring the various mobs that littered the hallways they ran through, and for once, the system generated enemies did likewise.

This phenomenon came from old 2d MMORPG's and it was something that came quite handy for them in this scenario. In a level-based game, the basic premise was with high enough levels, or more precisely big enough difference between levels could be, that the lower-leveled would have no chance at all. Because of that, if the difference was high enough, there was no point for the weak enemies to attack the player, only annoying them with no real promise of return, so even aggressive mobs tended to ignore these players. And fortunately for them, they were so massively overpowered for the 14th floor, that probably nothing other than a boss would pay any attention to them unless they attacked first.

Thanks to that, they ran through the various hallways, following Ken who seemed to most confident in telling which direction the fighting was, not hesitating at all when taking a turn. By that time, they could hear the sounds of steel clashing with steel more clearly, along with the sounds of a young female voice cursing like a sailor.

"Ken, there a large, circular room ahead." Dale called out to Ken who made an effort not to pull too much ahead of the others, with only Klein and Monroe who focused more on agility able to keep pace with him. The large man was lagging a little behind so to be useful he took the time to be useful and was checking the map. It was useful that this entire dungeon was mapped out beforehand."Judging by the sounds, whoever is fighting, it's probably there."

The teen gave no answer, only gritted his teeth, and ran forward, no longer caring about the others keeping up with him. Monroe shared a look with Klein, the red-haired samurai giving a nod, the self-proclaimed thief running after him while Klein stayed close to the slower members.

Ken noted none of it, his attention only on the opening in front of him, his hands reflexively gripping his katana. As he entered the large room ahead, he slowed down, not completely, and looked around, trying to get a full picture of what was going on.

It was a large room, circular room, with large windows giving it an airy feeling. There were a few, deeply decorated pillars standing at various points, creating another circle in the middle of the room. The room itself was decorated lavishly, making him feel like he would never earn enough money to afford something like this, either real or virtual currency. Not like he ever wanted to but the whole room made him feel a little poor.

He shook his head, silently admonishing himself for getting distracted before he turned toward the center of the room where he spied two figures fighting back to back, surrounded by around seven other people who were in no particular hurry to swarm them, content in only attacking with one or two at one time, the others preventing the two boxed in players from trying to run.

His eyes first focused on the people surrounding the two players, his grip on his sword handle tightening as an unfamiliar rage ran through him as he noticed two things straight away. All of them had large, grey cloaks that concealed their identity and made them look almost identical if not for the differences in height, gender, and weapon of choice. The second thing was the bright orange-colored cursor floating above their heads, declaring to the whole world what they were. Criminals.

He didn't have to guess for long to know exactly who they were, after all, he listened carefully to what Natsu, Basil, and the others went through on the 27th floor just recently. Without a doubt, they belonged to the player killer guild that plagued the floors of Aincrad.

"Laughing Coffin?" Monroe whispered in disbelief as he caught up and stopped next to him, the others not far off but far enough that they didn't see what the two of them did.

Ken suddenly realized that he was so shocked by the appearance of the very group they set out to hunt down, he stopped in surprise. At least, Monroe snapped him out of his shock and helped to remind him that he was not alone and it was not the wisest decision to simply rush in without a plan.

It was not an easy thing though. He was generally a laidback kid, who was very hard to truly anger but these Laughing Coffin guys were still able to do it. Because, for him, his friends were one of the most important thing, the reason why he was able to go forward and fight back in this death game. Threatening them, attacking them when he wasn't even there to support them, they made an enemy out of him without a doubt.

Thankfully while the two of them stopped at the edge of the room and gawked at the scene before them, their presence went ignored, the PKers too focused at the two people they were harassing, laughing among each other as they continued to attack them in turns. It was obvious they were playing with them, could have easily overwhelmed them by now.

Narrowing his eyes, Ken turned his attention toward the two fighters. One female and one male were fighting back to back, trying to valiantly stand their ground, even as the female was cursing up a storm which was shocking since she seemed around his and Natsu's age, maybe even a little younger if that was possible.

The male was a tall teen with white hair, wearing a simple vest over what looked like normal, everyday clothes, the rapier in his hands flashing dangerously, causing the cloaked player who was currently attacking him to back off. Despite his situation and the evidence of the damage done to him, he still had a smile on his face as he carefully moved around his partner.

For a moment Ken felt uncertain, scrutinizing him. That was nothing that seemed out of place on the teen but for some reason, Ken felt wary as he watched him, a sense of danger coming from him that he could not place. Yet, he was clearly fighting for his life, the green cursor above his head something of a relief, so no matter what strange feeling he got from him, there was no reason for him not to aid him.

This line of reasoning was much harder to maintain when he looked at the girl.

She was a small-statured girl, with her blue hair swaying behind her as she lashed out with her dagger with a precision that belonged someone used to the frontlines, to fighting for their life. She wore simple but strong armor, her equipment easily above what would be the average for this floor. As he watched her, Ken easily could tell she didn't have any hesitation fighting against humans, as she attacked with a ferocity and skill that would have killed any lesser person. Ken wasn't surprised after he noticed the orange cursor above her head.

They were holding their own for the time being, their enemies chose to remain cautious and use their numbers to tire them out, not a bad tactic at all, Ken had to admit. It was the first rule of the game that they had to learn if you are unsure of the level of your enemy, it's better to remain cautious. Still, it meant the two players would be defeated sooner or later unless help arrived.

"What should we do?" the uncertain question came from Monroe in a low voice as he watched the fight with a conflicted expression, while Klein and the others finally caught up to them and surveyed the situation. Ken wished he could answer but he could only frown, deep in thought.

His first thought, no his first instinct was to dive in and help the two players were surrounded. But much to his inner shame, he hesitated, seeing that orange cursor hanging above that girl. Intellectually he knew that not every people who have an orange cursor killed other players. Players could get an orange cursor temporarily for a lot of reasons, though not one of them was good, most of them were not as bad as killing others.

Yet, a part of Ken's mind still couldn't make that distinction. It was orange players who attacked and almost killed his friends and no matter how much he wanted to say otherwise, he internally already painted that girl as a player killer, someone dangerous that he shouldn't help.

He shook his head as his mouth formed a thin line, a little bit disgusted with himself. What would his friends say if he saw him hesitate to help people in not dying simply because of the color of their cursor? Just what would Natsu do in the same situation?

Ken wanted to laugh out loud when he realized how stupid that question sounded. He knew his friend and he would never, ever leave someone to fend for themselves for such a lousy reason. After all, didn't he rush to help him when they first met, just because he looked like a little over his head? Natsu would always extend a helping hand to those who needed it, it was a part of his character so much that Ken doubted he could ever be different.

In the end, there was never any question about what he should do.

A sharp smile appeared on his face as he leaned forward, ready to charge forward. He met Klein's eyes and was met with a similar determination, offering a single nod, permission he didn't need but appreciated nonetheless. After all, for all of his quirks, Klein was just like his own guild leader, reckless to the point of danger to themselves and others around them but most importantly, the burning desire to help no matter the circumstances.

Knowing the others would be on his heels, he shot forward, using his agility to the full to cover as much of the ground separating them as he could, no longer caring about staying silent or unnoticed. And it seemed he was just in time.

The attackers did not notice them, despite standing around like idiots but they were also getting bored of playing with the two players they were slowly but surely tiring out and decided to finally change tactics. Two of them engaged the dagger-wielding girl and a moment later they retreated, the enraged girl taking a few steps to follow them, exposing the back of the white-haired teen who was too busy fending off two other attackers to notice another one sneaking into the space between them, raising a long sword, no doubt coated by some sort of poison, aiming for his unguarded back.

The teen only noticed at the last moment, just as the blade was about to bit into his back. He looked over his shoulder as he got a little breathing room, eyes widening in shock as he realized he had no time to turn to block, to dodge, or do anything besides suffering a blow that would without a doubt take him out of the game.

It was the moment when Ken broke into the scene, catching the orange players off-guard who were ironically were completely unaware of their surroundings. The katana user of the Keepers of the Seven Rings ignored all of them as he went for the one about to land a devastating attack, trusting the others to discourage any who thought of attacking him from the back. Drawing his katana from its sheath, he turned his back to them for a moment as he whirled around, giving extra force to his swing and activating one of his sword skills, Tsuji Kaze in the process.

It was also known as Whirlwind, a one-hit skill that was relatively high on the katana's skill tree, it was not something you would see anywhere under the 20th level, even from katana using monsters. Ken himself, only unlocked around three weeks ago and while it did not a big deal of damage, it was a very useful skill because it had a relatively low cooldown compared to his other skills, but most importantly it applied two very useful debuffs if it landed. Light stun and bleeding, particularly useful in this situation.

His sword shone with a soft, red light as he reached his enemy who hurriedly pulled back as he noticed him barrelling toward him, raising his sword in a feeble block. He might have shouted in panic by the way his mouth, which was visible from under his hood at this close range opened but Ken who was concentrating on the attack, all sounds around him diminishing, heard none of it.

The attack landed, though the enemy's blade stopped it for a moment thanks to the extra power gained from the spin, the hasty block was pushed back, pushing back the orange player, the tip of Ken blade leaving a long, thin red line on his arm which unlike other small injuries didn't disappear after a few seconds, courtesy of the bleeding debuff.

"What in the world?" one of the orange players who opted not to engage the duo cried out in surprise before a war cry reached his air. Turning to the right he raised his spear to block a slash from Klein who had a smirk on his face as he pushed back the guy who was caught in an unstable stance. From behind him, Syrukko and Monroe went to engage the hooded attacker not far from him, while Dylan went toward Ken to offer assistance.

The blue-haired girl whirled around as her enemies retreated, seeing Ken push back the sword-user who almost struck her partner. She looked from her friend to Ken to the orange player standing opposite him with a glare that could have killed any lesser men and let out a curse that would have earned a blush even from Buzz, making the usually cheerful teen swore not to let her do that around Natsu.

„Bell-chan! the white-haired ten called out to her in a warning tone, that immediately had her shut up and with a glare turn back towards her earlier opponents, watching them warily. He turned to his own opponents but because they backed away, he sent a look at Ken, who stood between him and Bell, forming a triangle formation."Thanks for the help."

Ken gave a mute nod, not looking away from the orange player he attacked who was returning it with a wary stare. For a long moment, no one moved as Klein and the others readied themselves, while their enemies faced them warily, looking a lot more uncertain now that their numerical advantage was gone.

"You don't know what you stepped into." The apparent leader, the man facing Klein growled as he pointed his weapon, a large claymore that made the usually confident samurai let out an audible gulp. The man itself was similar to his weapon, large and tall, towering a whole foot over Klein who was not that small, to begin with. He also had a small black beard that was not hidden by his hood."But no matter, this mistake will cost your life."

Ken scoffed but didn't say anything as he raised his katana, adopting a more defensive stance in preparation for the attack. From the corner of his eyes, he saw the players he rescued take similar actions, deciding to hold their ground together.

"Bring it on." he said with a confident tone, before looking at the white-haired teen from the corner of his eyes who caught the look sending him a questioning look back."My name is Ken. After we defeat them, you can explain the situation fully but I would like to know just what's going on.

"Much appreciated." he said with a hum as he raised his rapier in front of him, smiling as if he heard a very good joke despite the situation they were in. "I'm Byakuran and this is Bell-chan." he completely ignored the growl coming from his friend and continued on. "These people are members of the player killer guild Laughing Coffin. And the reason they are after us is that we deserted from their group." he declared without a care about the implications of his words as if he was just talking about the weather.

At his words, Klein and the others stiffened, sending the two teens wary glances. For a moment, even Ken tensed before he forced himself to relax and let out a small laugh.

"And here I thought only Natsu had a bad luck like that." he mumbled to himself, looking as if he didn't feel threatened at all by the enemies around them.

Finally, the leader of the orange players lost his patience, ending their stalemate as he charged at Klein.

"Kill them all!" he roared, the others roaring as they followed his example.


	14. Level 14 Fight!

"So let me get this straight." Buzz began with a blank expression, staring down Ken who remarkably showed no sign of nervousness at the grizzly older player's mood."You ran into a bunch of orange players attacking one orange and a green player, jumped in without any plan or tactic and when you learned that they were former members of the very group we are after, you decided to stick your neck out and trust them?" he asked, his voice never rising despite how agitated he became as he talked.

"That's right!" the black-haired teen agreed, acting completely obvious.

"I see." he responded calmly. "I don't know why am I even surprised?" before anyone could react he lashed out, his hand an ear and tugging on it painfully eliciting a painful cry in response.

Those who knew Buzz weren't surprised by the action itself but at who he turned his ire toward. Because instead of Ken, he grabbed the ear of Natsu, catching the unsuspecting teen off guard.

"Ow ow ow! It hurts! Why am I the one being punished?" the rather short leader of KotSR cried out in pain as he rose to his toes to alleviate some of the hurt.

Of course, despite how it looked, he did not lose any hp or was in any semi a pain, more in discomfort than anything. They were in a safe zone, meaning without a duel he could not lose a single health point. Also, if it could cause any serious damage, a panel declaring a safe zone would appear between them, cutting off any action. But in this case, it did not happen.

Of course, despite his attitude and actions, Buzz was always careful. His cry of pain was more because of the initial surprise than because of any pain.

"Because it appears that your recklessness is contagious." the older player explained, not looking like he would let go of the ear anytime soon."If I want to put a stop to it before it spreads too far, I have to treat the root of it, meaning you."

"That doesn't make any sense." protested the fabled Orange Blaze as he flailed in the older man's grip fruitlessly.

Ken sagely nodded, seemingly agreeing with Buzz's point, not showing any shame at throwing his friend under the bus. A moment later he felt his cheeks pinched and a slight pressure exerted on them, causing him to wince as Argo stood next to him with a devilish smile that never failed to send a shiver down his spine.

"Don't think that makes you free of any punishment." she whispered in his ear, causing cold sweat to break out on his virtual skin. Argo was scary like that.

"Shouldn't we continue the story?" he asked, trying to steer the conversation away and at the very least postpone his punishment. He didn't have much hope for getting away scot-free.

"Yeah, yeah get on with it." Buzz grunted as he finally realized Natsu who began to massage his ear.

-0-

"You regret standing on our way!" roared the Laughing Coffin member in front of Ken as he brandished his Saber, before charging at Ken with a battle cry that tried to put to shame even a floor boss' cry. Safe to say it failed, miserably.

Ken frowned as he easily moved his blade into a parry, the attack was clumsily executed and almost painfully slow to his senses, who was used to much faster and stronger attacks on a daily basis. He easily caught it, pushing back with his admittedly not so impressive strength, unleashing a simple horizontal swipe almost lazily.

It was avoided without any problem by his opponent jumping back but it wasn't meant to hit in the first place. It only served to cause his opponent to back off, breaking his attack and allowing Ken to launch his counterstrike.

He lowered the sword next to his hips, gripping the handle with two hands, and concentrated on his breathing, something he was sure others would find odd since he was in a virtual body but it helped him concentrate. A moment later his sword shone in a faint green glow as he stepped forward, sending an upward cut against the cloaked man which easily broke through his weak attempt of a parry.

His body moving no longer under his command, but the system's, Ken immediately followed up by turning his blade and sending a diagonal cut across his opponent's chest, from the upper right to the bottom left. The hit landed cleanly, drawing a red line in its wake and causing a pained cry to rang through the room.

Instead of pressing the attack like he would have done in an ordinary situation, Ken retreated into the little triangle he formed with Byakuran and Bell, keeping an eye on their respective enemies in order not to be caught off-guard.

Not to mention, despite holding their own, the two players he charged into rescue were undoubtedly fatigued, their hp points in the yellow and gear visibly damaged. He had no idea how long they may have been chased and how long since they began to fight a losing battle but it meant they were far from one hundred percent right now, which meant it was his job to look after them.

A quick check on his opponent's health bar showed it dipped into the red, making Ken dismiss him in his mind and turn his attention away from him to the other enemies around them. It was common sense, after all. HP going into the red meant you were a hair's breadth away from game over, from death. If you had the option, it was only the sensible thing to retreat, away from the fighting, either to drink a potion or use a healing crystal to heal yourself or running straight away if the difference was too much.

And that was why he was caught completely off-guard as with another roar, the enemy he dismissed charged at him, his weapon raised over his head, all thoughts of defense or caution forgotten.

"Die! Die!" his cloaked opponent yelled at him as he repeatedly slashed at him, Ken only able to parry them with his hastily raised katana.

It wasn't anything he faced before, that sheer disregard for life, that fanatical drive. He faced monsters before, even when he was close to dying but it was different. At the end of the day, they were computer programs, not real people. Sure, they looked intimidating and it took a while for people to get over the realistic expression they made but they still weren't people. When they died, they didn't die and they weren't' prone to illogical and unexpected moves as much as a player who got desperate or panicked.

It was not something he ever prepared himself for, not even when he thought of facing the members of Laughing Coffin. In his mind, he figured they would simply give up when driven into the corner, defeated, their will to live overriding their bloodlust. He simply couldn't imagine this mindless rage, this overwhelming desire to kill and hurt, not even in his worst nightmares.

Despite his much higher level, experience, and the fact that his enemy was barely even standing he still took a few steps back, numbly parrying the attacks sent at him. He felt he didn't even control his body as he answered with a few weak attacks of his own, without any power in them, causing nothing more than a few small red lines to appear on his opponent's body who didn't even try to defend, only press his attacks.

The attacks would otherwise do nothing to another player but with the complete lack of defense and the already small amount of health his opponent still had, even those small cuts cut away at his life force, soon leaving him with only a sliver remaining as both of them stopped for a moment, breathing heavily.

Ken was virtually untouched, none of the attacks went through his defense, even in his distracted state but he was clearly unnerved, his hand shaking slightly, his grip on his sword tense. His fingers would have turned to white by now, he was holding onto it with so much force, if it were not a virtual body. His attacker on the hand was leaning on his sword, glaring at him with a fanatic rage. There was no fear in his eyes, no hesitation, only the desire to hurt, to kill. Something told Ken that he would not back down, no matter what but that didn't mean he couldn't try.

"Please, step down." he pleaded, slightly lowering his sword. His voice was lost in the canopy of the sounds of battle around him but the renewed glare he got showed that his voice was carried far enough. "You don't have a chance, please leave, there's no point to all of this." he pleaded him, not wanting this senseless fight to continue. His opponent didn't even have a chance in the first place, it would be the wisest choice to retreat, to live another day.

Instead of doing as advised, his adversary raised his blade, yelling in either or exertion. From what little he saw of his face, he seemed to froth at his mouth as he snarled at Ken. It looked like he was more like an animal than a human being, which didn't fail to make the katana user even more unnerved.

"For PoH!" the raving fanatic yelled as he ran at him, all thoughts forgotten from his head. He didn't even bother launching a sword skill, instead of using a basic, uncoordinated slash, leaving himself completely open.

It was painfully easy to counter, Ken was very much aware. He didn't even have to do much, only raise his sword a little and trust forward, directly into the chest of his opponent. He would be stopped before his blade could come down, with what little health he had, the victory was guaranteed. He had done it multiple times on mobs, always coming up on top. But there lied the problem, his opponent wasn't a monster generated by the system.

Uncertainty gripped his heart as he realized the situation he was in. His opponent would not give up, would not retreat as any sane person would do. His choice was either kill him, a living person, or let him land a hit and retreat further. The attack was weak, he doubted it could take away much health but the problem was that even a graze was more than enough. From what they knew of their tactics, the Laughing Coffin preferred the use of poisons to paralyze and incapacitate players, making it easy pickings for them. Not to mention if he continued to retreat, he would endanger his allies, all of whom had their enemies to deal with at the moment.

It would be the logical thing to do. To just end this battle, since there was no other way out. He knew this but he still hesitated. He saw people killed, of course, he had, it was a hazard of being on the frontline, he was met with this grim reality on the 25th floor especially. But seeing someone die because he wasn't quick enough and having to kill them himself was very, very different.

In the end, he simply couldn't do it. Ken, much to his inner shame, admitted defeat as his blade lowered without him noticing, leaving himself open to the oncoming attack as his opponent closed the distance within them, sword aimed to slash him into two.

Just before the attack could land blue hair obscured his vision, before a cry of pain hit his ears and he finally caught his opponent clutching his throat where a long red visible, backing up slowly.

He met the eyes of his would-be killer as he continued to glare at him. There was no fear of the inevitable, there was no acceptance, only blind rage, even as his hp reached zero and dreaded game over words must have appeared in front of his eyes. A part of Ken was sad that the man before him felt nothing about his death, probably only regret not killing Ken before dying.

"What are you doing, falling asleep like a complete idiot?" angry blue eyes stared into his own as Ken belatedly realized that Bell, the orange player he rushed in to help stood in front of him, dagger brandished in front of her.

It took him another dumbfounded blink for reality to catch up to him. She saved him, more importantly, she killed one of her former allies without at least evidence of remorse or moral conflict on her part. Indeed, she deemed angrily lecturing him while waving her dagger around, which she just used to kill someone as if to taunt him for his hesitation.

A part of him couldn't understand how she could act so careless, even if logically he knew that as a former member of the very guild they were currently fighting and an orange player to boot, she must have killed before and apparently wasn't bothered by doing it again, no matter her deflection. Another part, that he didn't want to acknowledge was relieved that he didn't have to choose who to stay alive, him or his opponent.

His hands were shaking, no his whole body was shaking, either from fear or just the adrenaline, he shut his eyes and took a deep breath, to force himself to calm down, to get into the game, as he used to do before baseball matches. Thankfully almost immediately his virtual body obeyed the command and he opened his eyes to see Bell glaring at him but looking like she was done with her tirade.

"Awake yet, dipshit?" she cursed and Ken silently had to reconsider his opinion, she wasn't finished at all."If you want to die so much then go ahead and jump down from the edge of the floor but don't you dare hold me back or I will stab you myself."

Meanwhile, the sounds of battle hadn't ceased, making him realize that his friends were still fighting despite him freezing in place. Thankfully, it didn't seem like he was 'out' for more than a few seconds but in the middle of a battle, it could mean the difference between life and death.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw the blue-haired girl's previous opponent charge at her with their spear held in front of them, remarkably silently for fanatical player killers. Without even thinking about it, he ran past the still fuming girl and as his katana shone with a brilliant blue hue, he released a simple vertical, aimed at the shaft of the spear.

The attack, aided by gravity, caught the weapon just where the wood met metal, where it was one of the weakest it could be, at least according to Buzz who made sure to hammer the basics of fighting enemies with longer reach into him and Natsu. With an audible sound, the spear broke into two, forcing the spear user whose gender he simply couldn't tell to grunt in either pain or surprise and halt their charge, quickly retreating from Ken.

"So you're still not dead, after all." Bell commented from behind him, though he wasn't sure if she was talking to him or the Laughing Coffin member who was eying them warily, one hand blindly trying to scroll their menu down to get a new weapon out but it ultimately didn't matter.

He ignored her, instead brought up his katana in a ready position, his mind working furiously even if he stood still. As much as he disliked her general disregard for human life and the way she talked, Bell was right in a way. In the middle of a battle, there was no time for him to freeze up like that, it could not only end in his death but his hesitation could cost one of his friends their lives and it would make him the cause of their death even if it wasn't done by his hand directly.

He thought of what his death could mean. He thought of how his guildmates would take the news from Klein. Natsu would be guilt-ridden for not being there with him, same with Basil. Agil would be devastated, and Buzz angry beyond belief. He would call him all sorts of idiot, only to move every rock in this virtual world to hunt down those responsible. Biggs, Wedge, Liz, Asuna, and his other friends would be no doubt devastated. He also thought about the world waiting outside this game, the real world. He didn't want his father to go through this, to lose his only son, not like this.

As if the world suddenly burst into focus, he found himself able to breathe properly, his frantic mind calming down. If he saw himself, he would have been surprised by the suddenly cold expression that took over his face, or the blue light that emitted from his eyes. He didn't want to kill but he wanted to die a lot less. He should have realized long before that these fanatics wouldn't easily surrender but naively he thought they would simply surrender if they neared the red zone of their health and everyone would go home, living happily ever after. Not any longer.

Using the slight breathing room that he had available he looked around, trying to see how the others were faring. Maybe because of his experience in baseball but he was able to accurately survey the field so to speak, something that was helpful in several boss fights where the prearranged groups were broken up by unexpected attack patterns or other reasons and they needed to reorganize.

Byakuran was keeping back his own opponent, with Bell deciding to chip in and slowly but surely chipping away at the surprisingly resilient opponent. A little away from them, Monroe and Syrukko didn't look like they were having much trouble, the two of them working together really well despite their vastly different fighting styles, their two opponents simply couldn't react in time to their tandem attacks. Dale was facing a similar problem to Ken, his opponent barely seemed to have any health left, yet continued to attack with abandon. For the moment, the rotund man chose to simply defend, probably trying to think of a solution.

Ken looked over Klein and was shocked to see the red-haired samurai struggling against his opponent. While not the strongest, despite his laid-back attitude Klein was without a doubt part of the upper echelons of the frontline, and seeing him slowly driven back was alarming. Not that he doubted that Klein would come out victorious, he was tenacious like that but it showed that his opponent, the apparent leader, was in a different category than the rest of the attacking orange players.

It was obvious for anyone given a little more time, the Laughing Coffin group would eventually lose. There was too much difference in levels, stats, and experience. Even their equipment, which was crappy by their standards, seemed more powerful than their enemies had. Yet, there was not even an inkling of fear in their eyes, no hesitation, no calls for retreat. That was honestly frightening, that simple-minded devotion.

It still didn't mean that their victory was guaranteed. One of the first things they had to learn in this world, that numbers, levels weren't everything. They put a significant portion into deciding a fight, true but a slight hesitation, like the one he suffered just now, simply over or underestimating an effect of an attack, these little things could decide between life and death. Not to mention, it was entirely possible for their enemies to have some reinforcement on the way while the same couldn't be said for their group. In the end, there were too many unknown variables.

Looking over the state of his friends, Ken made his decision.

"Retreat!" he yelled, gaining the attention of everyone in the room, friend and foe alike. "There's no point fighting here anymore, let's retreat the way we came." he declared before swiftly dodging to the side, avoiding the spear thrust at his back when he looked distracted. From sheer instinct he threw a half-hearted attack back at the cloaked attacker, hitting and this time earning a feminine cry of pain.

"What are you talking about you coward?" Almost predictably Bell objected, which didn't surprise him, she looked like a typical hothead. "We are kicking their asses without any trouble. Run if you want but I'm not running." honestly Ken was impressed how she could still go on when her appearance showed she and Byakuran were fighting for a while.

"Time to get going Bell-chan." the white-haired teen interrupted her with a sharp smile, grabbing her wrist, and began running, the foul-mouthed girl hurrying after him with a shell-shocked expression.

The opponent they fought tried to use their distraction to their own end and land a sneak attack but Ken who was quick to follow them got close and struck them on the face with the end of his handle. It was a low-level skill, pommel bash, a fairly useless skill since it dealt with almost no damage but had its uses as it applied the stun buff on a successful hit and had almost no cooldown. It came in handy in needs for retreats for example.

Klein hesitated for only a moment before a resolute expression came over his face. Feinting to the right, he caught his opponent unaware with a vertical cut that stunned him long enough for the samurai to turn away and retreat toward Monroe and Syrukko, his long time friend joining a moment later.

"You heard the man! There's no shame in running." he hollered to his guildmates who with wry grins on their faces followed his lead, a moment later in an impressive display of speed leaving the room altogether, along with Byakuran, Bell, and Ken, leaving their former opponents to gape after them, dumbfounded.

"What are you idiots doing? After them!" roared the leader after he got over his shock, prompting his subordinates into motion but by the time they did that Ken and his group raised a considerable distance between them.

"Not that I'm against it but why are we running?" Monroe asked, giving the duo they rescued a wary glance while Dave bought out a map to provide them with directions as they ran past various monsters that were thankfully too slow to try anything to slow them down.

"These guys are fanatical, nothing sort of death would stop them, which I doubt you would condone." it was Byakuran who explained, sending a nod to Ken's direction about what happened with his first opponent. The katana-user had a grim expression on his face but couldn't refute it. "Without a doubt, there is a backup on the way, that group's purpose was to slow us down and maybe trap us in one place since they weren't the strongest in the guild by a longshot. Thanks for the save, by the way, appreciate it." he ended it with a large smile, eyes closed for a moment. He looked honest enough but there was no doubt that he was dangerous, Ken reasoned, catching the serious look in his eyes a moment later.

"I could have taken them." Bell muttered with indignation but it was more like token protest as she let herself led by Byakuran. Ken had a little hard time figuring how the dynamic worked between them but soon returned his attention to more important matters.

"There was no reason for us to continue fighting." he decided to add his reasons as they made a sharp left turn after Dave ordered them to. "We went there to rescue these two, now the best thing to do is get back to safety, the Laughing Coffin won't risk attacking once we are too close to the city." he reasoned and his thoughts were confirmed by Byakuran who simply voiced his agreement with the sentiment.

Dave hummed, though if it was an agreement or to show he was listening was hard to decide since the man was focusing on the map in front of him and directing them through the maze. Behind them, they could hear their pursuers' angry yells but thankfully all of them had fairly decent agility compared to their enemies, even Dave and Syrukko who were much more focused on strength in general.

Monroe and Syrukko looked unconvinced, though they refrained from saying anything. Ken could understand. While retreating when it was needed was a lesson that was hammered into all of their heads after seeing comrades die because they refused to give ground but it still left a bitter taste in their mouth. In his too. They were supposed to be the top players, their entire existence hinged on walking forward, braving dangers, and coming out on top in the end.

In the end, it was Klein who was able to break the mood, even in the middle of ducking below a large insect's limb that tried unsuccessfully to take his head off.

"Well, I for one, more than ready to be lazy and avoid a fight if I can." he responded in a light-hearted tone and at that moment Ken really appreciated the samurai's generally easy-going attitude."Though I don't know if we can if those guys catch up to us."

"Allow me to offer you a solution for that." the white-haired teen responded with a cheeky grin before pulling out a couple of black orbs from his inventory and dropping them in the direction they came from.

A moment later the orbs exploded into black smoke, shrouding the hallway behind them in darkness as evidenced by the surprised and even angrier yells coming from their pursuers. As Bell began to cackle, Ken could only shake his head, feeling oddly exasperated. So that's how Buzz feels most of the time, he thought to himself.

Smoke bombs, a fairly easy to get item, mostly used in distractions or a quick retreat. He was slightly surprised that it was used by the rapier user instead of the dagger user. Despite not liking stereotypes, usually dagger users would use items like that, this style of fighting complimenting them more than a straightforward rapier user.

But it was not the time to think about that. They were far from being safe, their pursuers on their heels, and the exit of the dungeon was quite a distance again. With a frown on his face, a dangerous idea began to form in his mind, one that usually only Natsu would come up with.

-0-

"Far be it for me to complain but do we even know where we are running?" the white-haired teen, Byakuran, Ken reminded himself, asked with a wide smile on his face. Looking at him, showing no nervousness, running without a care in the world, one wouldn't think they were running for their lives. Or that he was pursued by the sole guild in Aincrad that was made up of killer players.

"I don't have such reservations. Where are you idiots leading us? If all we are doing is running around like idiots, I would rather stop and fight." demanded the blue-haired Bluebell, whose full name was revealed after she got mad at being called simply Bell, surprising none of them with her kind of predictable temper.

They were in the middle of their impromptu formation as Klein took lead, with Ken and Dave running just behind him on the lookout. Syrukko and Monroe were in the back, behind the two former Laughing Coffin members as the seven of them ran through the oddly deserted dungeon.

"If you haven't forgotten about it, they are after us because of you. So quit yelling and run." Monroe yelled at her, a dark tone in his voice as he kept a hand on his dagger even as they ran, the sounds of their pursuers following behind them.

Bluebell was about to retort when a warning look from Byakuran shut her up. It didn't take a genius to see that the two members of fuurinkazan were in the back, partially to defend the rear if their pursuers finally catch up but mostly to strike the two of them down if they tried anything suspicious. Their group may consist of idiotic bleeding souls as Bluebell mockingly called them but they were not idiots, even if some of their actions may say otherwise. They didn't loan them too much trust, former members of the very guild they set out to find. Even if they were currently hunted by them.

To be honest, the whole thing smelt of a setup, at least to the cynical part of Ken that was influenced by Buzz, now that he had time to think things through, making them even more alert than they would be. After all, what were the odds of them finding a couple of former members of Laughing Coffin, hounded by that very same group, in a seemingly empty lower-level floor's dungeon?

But this did not matter because he was an idiotic bleeding soul and he was completely fine with it. Or at least that will be his excuse if Buzz will question him and he definitely will.

"Byakuran." he called out to the white-haired teen as they turned to the right, avoiding a pair of mantis-like monsters that thankfully ignored them because of their high level and the fact they were out of their range a moment later since they couldn't afford to slow down even a little bit with their pursuers still not have given up.

"What is it?" the teen asked back as they ran forward in a serious voice that contradicted his smiling personal he showed up until now.

Ken supposed it wasn't so hard to understand. Who knows how long he and Bluebell were running from and fending off their attackers, and even with the reinforcement they provided in the end they had to retreat, their pursuers hot on their heels. It would wear down in anybody, to the point few could keep up their good mood even remotely. That also made him worry if what he showed until now was an act or the real deal.

"What can you tell us about those unique items we saw members of Laughing Coffin use? The item that could block the map feature and that strange potion that creates a portal or something." he asked, deciding that there were more pressing matters than doubting these two."We have almost no knowledge of them or their capabilities, so if you could tell us about them we wouldn't be caught off-guard if they tried to use it against us."

"You mean the items that Natsu and his group encountered? That would be certainly useful if we knew about that." Dave commented with a frown, giving Ken a look from the corner of his eyes."No other player encountered similar items, not even the beta testers. Right now we have no idea what we are facing."

The white-haired gave a thoughtful hum, contemplating for a moment. Bluebell, on the other hand, stayed silent with a grumpy look on her face, apparently not willing to talk to them more than necessary. It was fine with them, it was quite plain to see for all the hot air the girl blew out, out of the two of them Byakuran was the one who led and she followed without question.

"Unfortunately I don't know much about them since only the 'elite' of the guild has access to them, which we were not." Byakuran began to explain but had to stop for a moment as Dave called out to Klein to turn right at the next intercession."Nobody even knows where they came from, the leader simply brought them out one day and gave them to a select few to test them out."

"So does that mean you know nothing?" Monroe asked with a gruff voice. He was easily the most distrustful of the two people they ended up rescuing, though Ken couldn't honestly blame him. It wasn't a situation they know how to handle.

The blue-haired girl let out an angry sound before Byakuran simply silenced her with a simple look, something Ken was thankful for. Right now, himself included was suspicious and paranoid enough to make things complicated, they didn't Bluebell to give those thoughts even more ground by acting unreasonably.

"I don't know everything." the teen clarified, sending a large smile to Monroe which seemed to piss off the man more than anything."But I can tell you what I know and what I figured out. The first is the map blocker, a real original name I know, and does what the name says. It blocks the map function but it has a fairly small range where it works and simply exiting the range, its effect would disappear." he explained.

"So by the time they could use it, we would have other worries than not being able to see the map." Klein reasoned with a serious face. Despite his usual behavior, the man was indeed a capable and calm leader when it was required.

"That's right." Byakuran agreed with a simple nod."The other item, that black liquid, I don't know its name but I know it can create a portal that people can use to escape through, supposedly even in places where teleportation is forbidden." Ken felt a shiver run down his spine at the news and he figured he wasn't alone. That was a terrifying thought."Fortunately, the place it leads to has to be marked before, and as far as I know, each one that the leader gave out leads back to the base."

"So it's commonly used for escaping." Syrukko concluded with a nod and a notable sigh of relief."That means they couldn't just pop out of nowhere and ambush us."

"Just who is that leader of yours? Access to items, the likes we never heard of before, not even the beta testers, and somehow gather a bunch of killers and crazies under our very noses." Monroe asked, for once his angry face was not directed at the two teens.

Ken was pretty sure what went through his comrade's head. Who would have access to items that didn't appear normally in the game, other than its creator and only game master, Kayaba Akihiko? But it also didn't make sense, what use would it be for that man, to organize a player-killing guild of all things? Though imprisoning ten thousand people in a video game also didn't make much sense, so maybe he was looking into this in the wrong direction.

"Ex-leader." Bell corrected Monroe, sending him a glare but this time at least there was no need for Byakuran to calm her down. "His name is PoH and he is...strong." she added uncertainty, and her voice trembled a little.

"More importantly." Byakuran cut her off with a serious tone, prompting Ken to look back and met the grim look on the white-haired teen's face."Have you guys noticed it, yet?"

The katana-user opened his mouth to question him but just then he finally noticed the same thing as Byakuran did. It was too quiet around them, save for the sounds they made. The monsters didn't give out much sound when they were not in a battle so it was nothing but a hardly noticeable noise. But what really stood out the absence of the angry yells and other sounds made by their up until now relentless pursuers.

Without any conscious thought, all of them stopped, wordlessly arranging themselves into a circle, facing outward suddenly wary of an ambush coming out of nowhere. There was absolutely no evidence of their pursuers or anyone else other than game generated monsters in their vicinity but it only made them more nervous, since it could mean anything from managing to lose their enemies, about to walk into a carefully crafted ambush, or even get completely lost without intending to.

"Is it too much to hope that they simply gave up and let us go on our way?" Klein had to ask, though his tone made it evident how little he believed in this possibility. Unfortunately, while Ken wouldn't have minded that outcome, he was pretty sure it was not the case.

"No chance." Bluebell was quick to dash their hopes but even she looked nervous as she tightened her grip on her dagger and looked around wildly. "If there is one rule in Laughing Coffin, there is no safe place for a traitor. If you betray PoH you will be hunted down without mercy, no matter where you try to run." she explained with a grim tone.

"And here I was hoping we finally caught a break." Monroe complained with a huff, though he soon lost his joviality as they strained their senses, trying to find evidence of their pursuers still lurking about.

"Just what is their plan? If they are so intent on catching us, why stop going after us directly?" Ken asked his senses on high alert.

He remembered Natsu mentioning that the Laughing Coffin members he encountered were very good at stealth and also very fast so he wouldn't discard them trying a hit and run tactic, like a single assassin rushing them from their blind spots and retreating soon after. It was not a bad tactic at all, which put him even more on edge since the darkened halls of this dungeon only gave them an advantage.

"If you think about it, in a dungeon there is usually only one place where you can enter and exit." Byakuran said the teen looked much more relaxed than all of them."I reckon they are planning to set a trap, a large ambush at the entrance of the dungeon. Teleport crystals are very rare and expensive so it's almost impossible for you to have enough around for us to exit that way." Dave confirmed it with a mute nod, in response Byakuran let a sardonic smile appear on his face."And since you are the good guys, it's not really your style to just save yourselves and leave anyone who doesn't have a teleport crystal. Hate to admit it but it is a very good plan."

The others looked at each other, hoping that someone could come up with something to refute this claim but as much as they disliked it, Byakuran's thought process would probably be the correct one. That meant, it was all but guaranteed that they would run into an ambush where their enemies would have every possible advantage. And no matter the level difference, they could be still overwhelmed.

"Byakuran, the other members of your guild, how strong are they?" Klein asked quietly, a calculative look on his face that Ken catches from the corner of his eyes."Are they around the level of those we faced just before? Or they are stronger?"

"Wait, you don't plan to face them head-on?" Syrukko finally spoke up, his quiet voice full of nervousness, and looked like he was a moment away from questioning the sanity of his leader. Next to him, Bell sent the samurai a similar look, silently asking if he was an idiot.

The green former member of the laughing coffin didn't answer right away, his eyes narrowed in thought. All the while, the only sounds around them were the faint sounds of monsters, making all of them tense and nervous.

"Most of them more or less at around the same level as those who we encountered, if not a little stronger. The real problems are PoH's elite, six players who put crazy and fanatical at a whole new point.'' At his words, Bell snorted but didn't say anything to refute the claim."The Chosen as they are called sometimes, jokingly or more in terrified awe, are the real deal. They are easily on the level of most frontline players with a ruthlessness that would leave most people unsuspecting of the attack that will take their lives. If they are involved in this...I don't like our chances." the white-haired teen admitted with a small frown.

The others looked at each other, feeling their chances drop by the minute as they heard more about their enemies. In hindsight, Ken supposed it was very foolish of them to simply wander around, hoping to find their opponents, excepting an easy fight and be back home by the time for dinner. It seemed they bit more than they could chew.

But right now, it was not the time for lamenting the situation but the time to think of a solution that had most of them leaving with their lives intact. And he even had one, even if it was idiotically dangerous and reckless. In his defense, Natsu was not always the best example to follow.

"You guys seem to forget one thing." he spoke up and couldn't help but smirk at the questioning looks sent his way."This is not the frontline. There are actually two exits in this dungeon."

At first, everyone looked at him blankly but as if a proverbial light bulb coming to life, realization dawned on their faces, most prominently on Klein's face.

"You want to go through the boss?" he asked in disbelief, speaking all of his comrades' thoughts at the ridiculous idea.

"That's insane." Dave said, instantly rejecting the idea. Byakuran on the other hand had an amused smile on his face, as if he wasn't in a potentially deadly situation but watching some kind of show on TV while Bell simply looked at him as if he was an idiot.

Despite their reactions, Ken's smile only grew as he became more and more sure of his admittedly insane plan. If his friends, who were very much experienced thought it wasn't even an idea worth considering, it probably meant that their pursuers thought the same, meaning there would be no ambush waiting for them at the boss room.

"It's...plausible." Syrukko spoke up, silencing the others' objections, receiving similar looks as Ken did. The older man's face reddened a little at the attention and he shrank into himself but continued to speak out."The boss on this floor was already defeated, so the way to the next floor is open, and with our levels simply running past the boss wouldn't be too hard.

"Not to mention, according to Kirito, the floor boss unlike other bosses, won't reappear after a few days after its defeat." Ken told them, deciding to put the final nail into the coffin."It's not public knowledge, because people tend to stay clear of the boss rooms, since, without the need to get past it, it's easier to simply farm on weaker, more accessible monsters."

It wouldn't make sense for a normal MMO but it was completely understandable for the Aincrad that Kayaba Akihiko created. The floor boss' last attack bonus was the target of a lot of players for a reason. If it was possible to farm these LA items, especially on floors like the 25th where the LA item was leagues above most currently available items, it would make beating the game much easier.

Somehow Kayaba or rather the system controlling the game was able to make the path onward neither impossible nor easy but just challenging enough to make it a struggle. if it wasn't a fight for their life, it would have been a wonderful game. But it was neither here nor there.

"Alright. Let's head to the boss room." Klein stated out of nowhere, surprising everyone, even Ken who thought it would take a lot more to convince his friends.

"Klein! What are you thinking? It's an outrageous idea." Dave immediately protested, Monroe, nodding along with him, while Syrukko simply shrugged, happy to leave the decision-making to others.

Meanwhile, Byakuran and Bluebell silently watched on, the first looking very amused by the whole situation while the latter was visibly bored and itching for a fight.

"Why?" the red-haired samurai asked back with a shrug."Think about it. We have two ways to get out of here and one is definitely an ambush, while the second only a maybe. Even if we send someone away with a teleport crystal to get reinforcements, the longer we stay in here and do nothing, the more chance that those chosen guys will get involved and things will get dicey. It's the best course of action."

Everyone looked at him for a long moment, surprised by the well thought out reasons that for some reason made sense. The silence was broken when Monroe groaned and pinched his nose, giving out an aggravated sigh.

"Great, as if today wasn't strange enough, Klein suddenly starts thinking logically. The world must be ending."

"Hey." the leader shouted in objection but all of his guildmates looked at him with deadpan looks, making him hang his back in depression.

"Let's get going on then, no sense standing around." Dave spoke up, earning a cheer from his immature friend and a small smile from Ken. "You are right that we can't waste too much time but if anything bad happens I will hold you responsible." he told Ken and Klein who looked at each other in question.

"But I'm not even in your guild." the teen felt he had to object, for the sake of objecting.

"I will tell Buzz." was the retaliation, causing Ken to drop his head, already feeling the incoming lecture coming.

"These guys are total idiots." Bluebell grumbled to herself, feeling unimpressed as they finally started moving, this time in the opposite direction. At her side, Byakuran chuckled heartily, more than a little entertained.

"They may very well be but you can't say they aren't amusing." he told her with a large smile."Way better than those dull fools back at Laughing Coffin."

"Alright people, we are burning daylight here." Klein declared with a toothy grin. "Go to the boss room, to the next floor, and civilization. It will be smooth sailing from here." his words were followed by a couple of groans.

"He just jinxed us, didn't he?" asked Monroe but no one felt like answering the obvious question.

-0-

"Here it is." Dave said quietly as the seven of them stood in front of a large, rusty-looking gate that loomed over them. They arrived at the boss room.

The way here was relatively peaceful. They kept their eyes opened but found no trace of their pursuers, nor any traps waiting for them to trap. They encountered a few monsters but without the fast pace, they had compared to before they chose to fight them, though thanks to their numbers and levels it was less of a fight than simply exercise.

Without hardly any opposition, they reached the boss room but suddenly found themselves hesitating. Even Ken, who knew from Kirito there was no boss monster beyond the gate, felt a monument of uncertainty. After all, they were used to facing almost impossible to beat monsters beyond doors like this but even then they had a full raid party to fall back on, not seven people. If the info turned out to be wrong, they would be in a lot of trouble.

"So far so good." Klein mumbled to himself before speaking up louder."Does anyone remember what the boss was for this floor? The mid ten floors kind of blurred together for me."

"If I remember right, it was some kind of fox samurai?" Ken said, asked with a hand on his chin."It wasn't much trouble and didn't give any significant last attack bonus either, though hopefully, we won't have to face it again."

The others nodded, accepting his words but no one moved to open the gates and see what was on the other side. After a full minute, Bluebell finally lost her admittedly short patience and stormed forward, cursing them all the way.

"Oh, for the love of all that holy, grow some freaking balls and let's get going." she said as she began to push open the gates without any hesitation much to the others' chagrin.

"Language, Bell-chan." Byakuran scolded her with an easy smile as he strolled after her with his hand behind his head.

Ken and Klein met each other's eyes and let out a sigh in unison at the antics of the two they rescued. Putting on a smile, that would have Natsu scold him for being fake, the teenager he indicated they should move as well. As the gates of the boss room finally opened, the members of fuurinkazan and Ken finally caught up with the two former laughing coffin members.

What awaited them behind the door was anticlimactic much to their relief. A large, empty room greeted them, with torches blazing on the walls and most importantly there was no boss monster standing between them and the stairs leading to the next floor.

"Looks like Kirito's info was correct." Dave commented with a relieved smile as they cautiously walked forward. Ken understood the hesitance, even though he felt a little skeptical about the info when he first heard it, despite his trust in the black swordsman."Guess all that's left is to go to the next floor."

"We shouldn't relax just yet. We are not out of the woods." Monroe commented as he kept a grip on his weapon.

Thankfully the boss room was open without pillars creating possible hiding spots and thanks to the torches the whole area was very well lit. It would be almost impossible for anyone to hide in here but Ken and his friends didn't survive this long on the frontline by underestimating their enemies and were not about to start that now. Still, it looked like they would reach the stairs without any problem.

They walked past the middle of the room, Klein taking the lead once again, with Ken choosing the trail behind them for once when suddenly his senses screamed danger at him. He didn't see nor hear anything yet a part of him felt if he didn't move at that exact moment he would die. And since that sense of danger saved his life many times he followed it without question.

He turned around, his body moved in a practiced, smooth way, and drew his sword in front of his body, parrying the knife thrown at him just in time to avoid it injuring him. With a loud clatter, the weapon landed on the floor a few feet away, alerting the others to turn around in surprise, hands going to their weapons.

"Wow, you are a sharp one." an amused voice rang through the large room."Not many can react so quickly, and precisely. You, you will be a great playmate."

Standing in front of Ken a little distance away was a cloaked person. He was around Ken's height, his cloak parted showing off some kind of leather armor he wore. He had a massive grin on his face as he watched them, his right hand twirling a dagger around without a care in the world. As Ken focused on it, he noticed the dagger had a serrated edge and looked very high quality, much better than what their earlier opponents had.

Ken had a slight inkling of who they were facing but it was all but confirmed when out of the corner of his eye he saw Bluebell, the snappy, stubborn Bluebell paled as if she saw a ghost and almost dropped to her knees as she started to tremble.

"Jo-Johny Black." she stuttered out, completely terrified. Next to her Byakuran remained much more composed, but he lost his smile as his knuckles grew white as he gripped his rapier.

The reactions and the orange cursor above their newest adversary's head was all the confirmation Ken needed. They were facing one of the elites of the player killing guide, one of the so-called Chosen. It was not good, not at all.

"Oh, so you are the two traitors who get away?" Johny curiously turned to the two of them, looking at them for a moment, before sending them a wave with his free hand."Nice to meetcha."

"Is this guy for real?" Monroe asked from behind Ken, his large frame tensed, to be able to move in a second if anything happened but couldn't mask how unnerved he felt by their enemy's nonchalant attitude. Truth to be told, Ken felt the same way.

"Don't underestimate him, it could be all an act to lower our guards" surprisingly it was Klein who proved to be able to remain the most level-headed, his stern eyes glaring down at the young murderer standing in front of them, the point of his sword aimed at his chest."And keep your eyes peeled around for any sudden movement, I doubt he is alone."

His words had a prominent effect on the frontlines group. His calm, confident demeanor helped them see through the unease that assaulted them with the sudden appearance of Johnny. With practice, born from spending countless days around each other his guildmates straightened and took up positions around him. Dave and Monroe flanked their leader while Syrukko stayed behind them, ready to assist whoever needed it. Even Ken relaxed his stance, turning it from a rigid fighting stance to a more fluid, more natural one, assured that he was not facing this newest threat alone.

Byakuran and Bluebell were much slower to follow their example but they did, probably figuring out that their chances of survival were much larger if they helped out the group that didn't want to kill them, and readied themselves to the seemingly unavoidable fight.

Yet, seeing the group and alert and ready to fight, the smiling Johnny Black didn't seem the least bit threatened by them, continuing to play idly with his weapon, not even giving a feeling as if he was about to attack at any moment.

"Nah, I'm more of a solo act, I hate having losers slow me down. It's much better this way, I can hog all the fun." the clearly deranged teen told them with a large, eager grin on his face.

"So you're that confident that you can take all of us?" Dave asked, a little disbelieving. Not to toot their own horns, but all of them were fairly competent, as far as the best of the game was concerned, though admittedly Klein and Ken were the best out of the seven of them without question. They were by no means pushover one-on-one, let alone in a seven-to-one fight.

What disturbed him was that their opponent instead of acting unnerved or uncertain began to practically vibrate on the spot, his large grin threatening to split his face in two at the thought of facing all of them at the same time. There was something wrong in the kid's head.

Which meant it was even more strange when suddenly the teen stopped, slumping forward with a pout of all things on his face as he sheathed his weapon and turned away from them.

"While I would love nothing more to chop you into itty little bits," Monroe turned into an interesting shade of green at the wishful looking player's words. "Unfortunately I wasn't even supposed to be here, so I guess I have to let you go. So unfair." he whined as he childishly kicked the air as he took a step away from them.

"You are just...letting us go?" Bluebell couldn't help but blurt out her question, still pale but at least her trembling looked to be under control. The white-haired teen next to her was watching Johnny with narrowed eyes, similarly doubting his words.

"Don't worry, you guys will die soon enough." he responded nonchalantly, turning back to them as he threw off his hood, showing them his face. he looked barely older than Ken, with wild, spiky brown hair and black eyes that danced with glee."If you are lucky it will even be by my hand."

None of them said anything, only subtly drawing a little closer around the two escapees, not at all reassured by his words of not wanting to fight. Johnny chuckled to himself, before looking directly at Ken, the swordsman raising his sword in front of him as if trying to ward him off despite the distance between them.

"You are Natsu-kun's friend right?" he asked, even as Ken frowned."Please give him a message from me, will ya? We had such a wonderful time together the last time we met, I don't want him to think I forgot about him. Tell him, we will finish it and I will value the memory of life fading from his eyes when our time will end." he told him with a dark, demented grin on his face.

If it wasn't for the quick thinking of Klein and Monroe grabbing him, Ken would have charged right then and there at Johnny, an uncharacteristic snarl on his face which served to further entertain the elite of Laughing Coffin. Threaten him all you want, Ken could deal with that but threaten his friends, especially his best friend and leader, you signed your death warrant. It was only a question of time when the black-haired swordsman caught up to you.

"Easy there, buddy. Don't charge into your death just yet." Klein whispered to him, trying to stop him from doing something reckless that he no doubt will regret.

Entertained by their reactions, Johnny gave them one last jaunty wave before turning around and walking away. Their eyes widened as instead of walking out of the room, the very air seemed to distort around him and a moment later, the member of Laughing Coffin was nowhere to see.

"Monroe." Klein called out to his friend, who nodded before narrowing his eyes and looking around.

Staying stealthy relied on your stealth skill scoring better than your opponent's perception, or you would be found out. As a dagger user, Monroe had the highest perception out of the seven of them, which was needed to be able to spot openings in the enemy's defenses or traps, since dagger users worked generally as scouts.

After a long moment, the large man shook his head, signaling that he found no trace of Johnny or anyone else hiding around them. At that, all of them let out sighs of relief and relaxed slightly, save for Ken who was still quite angry.

"We shouldn't linger around. Let's get out of here while we can." Syrukko murmured softly, none of them feeling like raising their voices would be a good idea right now.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Bell said with a frown as she turned around and marched toward the stairs, Byakuran following her with an apologetic smile.

The others sighed at her attitude before following too, save for Ken and Klein who remained in place for a moment. The red-haired man placed a hand on the younger teen's shoulder, to reassure and snap him out of his funk.

"Klein?" he asked, his head tilted as if only noticing the man was next to him.

"You okay there?"

"I," he hesitated for a moment, frowning at the direction Johnny disappeared."No, I have a really bad feeling about all of this.

"Me too, buddy. Me too." Klein murmured as they turned around and left the dungeon.

There will be a mess of epic proportions, he just knew it. He just hoped he and his friends would get out of it in one piece.

-0-

"Wait, that's it?" Argo asked, blinking owlishly as the black-haired teen finished his tale by telling them that they arrived into the town and sent word to them, while Syrukko and Monroe went back to their guild to inform the others. "That's way too anticlimactic for all that hype." she said, pouting as she went to sit next to Bluebell who grumbled something about personal pace.

"Well, sorry for not entertaining you. I, on the other hand, feel like I aged ten years just this day." Klein said as he crossed his arms and leaned back on his chair. Natsu and the others noticed how tired he looked, despite trying his best not to show it.

"Ken, how are you holding up?" Natsu asked worriedly from his friend as he finally escaped Buzz's grip and stood next to him.

"I'll be alright, I'm mostly tired." was his answer, accompanied by a weak but genuine smile.

"Just what's with you kids and getting into trouble?" Buz groaned as he ran a hand down on his face, letting out a frustrated groan. "Well, at least everybody got away, so there's that. Now we only had to decide what to do with these two." he added, pointing to Bluebell and Byakuran, the former looking more annoyed by the minute, while the latter still smiling pleasantly.

"It's not like they are innocent since at least that one was a genuine follower at some point." Argo said, pointing at Bluebell who if anything seemed to get even more pissed off."They also have probably useful information so letting them go off on their own is a no-go. Not to mention, I doubt their former guild will stop trying to kill them so soon. Maybe we should Asuna if she could have her men guard them as well until we have the prison situation figured out?"

"Should we treat them as prisoners?" Natsu asked, though even he couldn't deny he didn't feel exactly relaxed around Bluebell and there was something about Byakuran that had him on edge.

"Well it's not like they didn't do anything wrong, seeing as both of them were members of the player killing guild and at least one of them has the orange cursor to show for it." Buzz replied with a frown as he gave the two of them a side glance before turning to Argo. "Contacting Asuna would be the best for the time being, though I would like to see how much they are willing to tell us before rounding up the whole cleaners." he added.

"We are still here you know!" Finally having enough of being ignored, the blue-haired girl loudly slapped her hands down on the table as she stood up, yelling at them with a positively furious expression."Stop talking about us as if we weren't here."

From the corner of his eyes, Natsu saw her friend's smile widening, as if he found this whole situation immensely hilarious. It did nothing to help lessen the uncomfortable feeling he got from him, especially when he seemed to sense the eyes on him, looking up and meeting his eyes.

Embarrassed at being caught, the leader of the keepers of the seven rings looked away, fiddling with the strap tying his sword to his side.

"I'm not going to pretend we are innocent or that we are the good guys'' the white-haired teen spoke up, garnering the others' attention. He sat in his seat without visible care in the world, smirking at them in a really infuriating way." but we, unlike the rest of the laughing coffin, are open to negotiations."

"What kind of negotiations?" Buzz asked with a barely held back glower, not liking this situation at all.

"I have two pieces of very important information that you would no doubt would like to get your hands on." Argo visibly perked up at the mention of information. "The location of the guild and their next attack. All we need in return to be protected by retaliation and treated as guests instead of prisoners. It's a very good deal for you if I do say so." he told them with that scheming grin of his widening as none of them could hold back their surprised reactions at the offer.

Natsu met Buzz's eyes, indecision brewing inside of him. If they could stop this whole Laughing Coffin debacle without it ever really being drawn out, they could save themselves a lot of possible headaches. On the other hand, they didn't really have much assurance that the information would be correct and that did not mention the strange, not exactly bad vibes he gets from Byakuran.

He was sure that something else was going on, something none of them was aware but aside from that vague feeling he had nothing concrete.

From the look on his face, Buzz was thinking on a similar line of thought. In the end, he seemed to have resigned to whatever decision he came to because he let out a heavy sigh and turned to the patiently waiting Byakuran, whose smile didn't lose its edge.

"Alright, what can you tell us?" at his words, Dave's eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the spear user in surprise.

"Wait, you actually want to make a deal with them?" he asked, disbelieving. In response Buzz only shrugged, in the end, it was Argo.

"We have little choice. We know too little about their guild and they are making more trouble than the frontliners could deal with, especially if we want to get through the hurdle that was the loss of the 25th floor." she turned to Byakuran, her narrowed eyes boring into his amused ones."We will provide you with safety, provided you follow our rules, and even keep you guys' names out of the other guilds, in return for the information. Deal?"

"Well, I can't say no to such a good deal, can I?" Byakuran asked back in an infuriating way, though he quickly turned serious as he leaned forward."Alright, I tell you what is the next move planned by the player killing guild, Laughing Coffin."

"Quit showboating and just tell us already." Buzz, already at the end of his patience snapped at him.

"Have it your way. There is at least one member of one of your guilds that secretly works for PoH and informs him of your movements. He plans to use the next boss battle to cripple your efforts and stall the progression of the cleaners indefinitely." no one said anything as they could scarcely believe what the white-haired teen was saying."Either during or after the 27th floor's boss battle, Laughing Coffin will attack and plan to wipe out most of the frontline players."


	15. Level 15 Emergency Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A meeting behind closed doors and a last party before the Keepers of the Seven Rings descend into the darkness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With this chapter, I finished uploading all the chapters I wrote until now which means from now on you will have to wait patiently for the next chapter like all the others at FF.   
> This is the last chapter to set up my Laughing Coffin raid and the next chapter will be quite interesting. Not gonna lie I'm a bit nervous as I realized how large of an attack I am planning to write and all the side-threads I decided to include in it. Hopefully I would be able to write it in a way to do it justice.
> 
> I recently joined a discord server of SAO author's, it's a really fun group so feel free to join us and talk about SAO or anything that comes to mind. Chaos and various shenanigans are guaranteed. Author or reader, everyone is welcome. Here is the link: https://discord.gg/2zRnPkHU

"I hate to say but you are right. If the information you got is accurate, then the whole clearing team is in danger and with that, any hope of clearing the game." the man, known to most as Heathcliff noted as he leaned back on the lavish chair he was seating, regarding the people sitting opposite of him.

Though he refrained from overly affecting the process of clearing the game, after all, what good was a game without any difficulty, he couldn't help but find an almost unusual interest in a particular group of players who made a habit of surprising him or simply succeeding his exceptions. And no matter what anyone thought of his mental state, Kayaba Akihiko was a genius without a doubt and it was rare that people could surprise him at all.

Next to him sat Asuna, his vice-Commander and guild leader in all but name. She was a brave and interesting young woman whose skills were shining brighter and brighter every day. When he first made note of her presence, during the 1st boss fight, he already noticed how she could be a great player, an example, and hope for others to follow. Her potential was being polished bit by bit by responsibility and the sight of a clear goal in front of her eyes.

He left the managing of the guild and most duties relating to the frontlines to her since as the sole game master of the game, he didn't have as much time to 'play' as much as he would like to. Also, he could observe players of particular interest much easier using the cardinal systems tracking functions than using his Heathcliff persons, especially lone wolves like Kirito or groups operating mostly by themselves, like Natsu's group.

Another reason was that he hoped to make her into a capable leader, one who could hopefully pick up and guide the players after he revealed himself as the final boss, something that bound to make them lose their will to fight temporarily.

Ideally, he would reveal himself after the 99th boss fight, inviting players to face him as the final boss. Of course, he was not so naive to believe that everything and everyone would fall in line and follow his plan to the letter. Nor was he arrogant enough to think that no one would figure out his real identity before he revealed it himself. But this was part of the game, one he couldn't help but enjoy because of the challenge and surprises it offered to him.

Speaking of surprises, he looked at the young teen sitting confidently in front of him and observed the famous Orange Blaze of the frontlines. He had to admit, even he found himself amazed at the insane guts, luck, and skill the otherwise unassuming Natsu showed, making him one of the best players of the game, one who Heathcliff could see picking up and making the mantle of the Hero of this story his own.

What he found most fascinating about the young teen was how he was able to gather so many different people around him almost effortlessly. Most noticeably the core of his guild, the fuurinkazan guild, even his own sub-leader Asuna and the loner Kirito. It also raised questions of how he was able to command them so easily, none of the more strong personalities among that group questioning him in and out of the battlefield.

Not to mention the unique way he fought on the field. He was understandably proud of his creation, the Cardinal system that controlled SAO. He made sure to make the enemies and their movements as lifelike as possible, with the hidden ability to learn over time, increasing the difficulty in front of the players as they neared closer to the final floor. The mobs were harder to anticipate, each with a unique pattern of attacking, ensuring that every step to their goal would be hard-fought.

Yet, when he took time to observe Natsu, he found the young man was able to predict the movements of his enemies with almost unbelievable accuracy. It was a skill especially useful for him at boss battles where they tended to act out of pattern to make it harder for players to adapt but he was able to react with such speed, if he didn't know better, Kayaba would have thought he had access to the system itself.

His eyes went to Natsu's right where the tall form of Buzz stood with a frown on his face. It was another interesting case, Buzz, he knew that even before the official launch was one of the most talented beta testers and he was sure he would rise up in the ranks of players in no time. Yet, the man was a loner at heart so it was quite a great surprise to see him in a group, much less in a frontline guild, acting as a pseudo advisor to Natsu. He always took great care when interacting with the man, he was far from an idiot and feared any slip up in front of him could cost him dearly.

At Natsu's other side stood silently the mysterious information broker, Argo. She was another who seemed to fall under the young man's influence, despite her supposed neutrality among players and placing money before anything else. Her occasional help and clear fondness for their group, along with the skilled individuals among them are what made the Keepers of the Seven Rings into one of the most relevant frontline guilds despite their smaller size.

Heathcliff subtly shook his head, redirecting his errant thoughts back in order. It wouldn't do to get lost in them right now. It was only the five of them meeting right now, Asuna got a message from Natsu of an emergency and since he was specifically asked to attend, Heathcliff had no choice but to accompany her, his curiosity piqued.

They met at the guild building of the KotSR and were quickly brought up to speed what Ken and the Fuurinkazaan group ran into on the 14th floor, along with the information they obtained from the two players they rescued from the Laughing Coffin. Safe to say he was quite a little intrigued and even a little worried by the ambitious plans of PoH, the leader of the player killer group.

"I assume it was intentional that you disclosed no information on the two deserters?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, though he was well aware of the answer, well before he got it.

"This was one of their conditions for providing us with this information and further insights into how the group functions." Argo replied to him, her mouth set to a frown as she constantly perused a menu opened in front of her. No doubt she put most of the informants working under here to work to verify all the information they got.

"Assuming they are telling the truth." he cautioned and Asuna nodded next to him, arriving to the same concern. After all, it was a useful tactic, to deceive your enemies with false information.

He also wondered why wasn't the third large guild, the Divine Dragon Alliance invited to this meeting but he got his answer through sheer logic. Their leader, Lind was stubborn and untrusting to a fault. He would have rejected the information, no matter the arguments brought up, while he, even in his player persona, was someone who could be reasoned in. And with him and the KoB behind them, it would be easier to convince the others to follow their lead. It was a sound decision on their part.

From the frown on Buzz's face, he knew they had similar reservations about the info, which would explain why Argo was so busy that she barely paid attention to their conversation.

Natsu on the other hand remained resolute, not even a hint of his usual shyness and uncertainty showing.

"The truth is, whether the information they gave us is real or not, we can't afford to ignore it." he explained quietly, a troubled look in his eyes at the implications of what would happen if Laughing Coffin emerges victoriously.

"G-Guess you are right." Asuna said with an uncertain frown on her face as she looked away from them to think.

"And what do YOU think Natsu-kun?" Heathcliff spoke up, his gaze not wavering from the brown-haired teen."I agree that we can't afford to ignore it but I'm curious about your opinion on this whole situation."

It was a subtle thing but very noticeable if you pay attention. Natsu was a great leader, able to bring together people and command them effectively in a battle. But if you looked at him outside the battle you could see a different person in his place. During most of their guild meetings, he may have been the one who spoke up and represented his guild but he had no doubt that a lot of decisions came from the influence of Buzz, Agil, and Argo. He was honestly curious about Natsu's own opinion.

The young teen closed his eyes and took a big breath as he thought about how to answer. Next to him, Buzz put a hand on his shoulder, to show his support and remind him that he was not alone. A moment later his eyes opened and Heathcliff was surprised to see that instead of their usual brown, there was an orange shade to them.

"As strange as it sounds, I trust their word. They may not be innocent in player killings, they may not even offer this information because they feel bad about what they did but deep inside, I'm sure they are telling the truth, and if we ignore this chance, I don't want to imagine what could happen." he explained sincerely but Heathcliff kept his face blank, his mind running furiously on a different topic.

He would chalk it up to an optical illusion or something similar but the truth was they were in a virtual world that he created and he knew most if not all of its secrets and quirks and he was well aware that changing the eye color with the appearances put to default was simply not possible. Yet as if taunting him that the rules of Cardinal could be ignored, Natsu sat in front of him with his almost orange eyes.

To summarize the young teen, he could be called a glitch in the game, something that managed to alter the game in a way that shouldn't be possible. Along with his almost unnatural ability to predict the enemies' movements, it was no wonder that Kayaba decided to keep a close eye on him. Similarly, he found interest in the leader of Laughing Coffin, the infamous PoH. He pulled together a bunch of different people who probably wouldn't have worked together without him just like the young guild leader and had access to items that weren't designed either by him or Cardinal, items that were made for him and his men to PK easier.

Neither Natsu nor PoH hacked into the game in the traditional sense, he was sure of that much. The best minds of Japan and probably the world are constantly trying to hack into SAO but his own contingencies along with Cardinal's learning algorithm, all of those attacks were repelled with minimum difficulty. It just made it all the more curious who these two players were and how they were able to do what they did under the System's nose.

One would think, not illogically, that he would be angry at his game being ruined by cheaters. It couldn't be further from the truth. For Kayaba he felt fascination, childlike wonder at the development in front of him. After all, a game where you know every move the others will make well before they make them can be a very boring game.

Also, seeing the Cardinal system outplayed by whatever means, just showed that despite how proud he was of his creation, it still had room to grow and it was perfect. Since the entire premise of Cardinal worked on bettering itself, day by day until it could evolve into an entirely different system than what he initially designed.

It was hard, to hold back the smile that threatened to break out as he thought about just how his initial plan would change after he realized the full extent of these changes. Something like that would frustrate someone else to no end but he was different. That was why he showed such a large interest in the two of them, going so far as to try to personally look into this whole Laughing Coffin debacle.

But he was getting lost in thought. He refocused on Natsu, a serious stare on his face as he considered his options. While many would think him heartless for imprisoning ten thousand people and killing many of them through the game, he still wanted to keep a part of players from dying so they could reach him on the 100th floor. Add to that, his current position needed him to think of the players first and foremost.

"Knowing that, the most sensible thing would be to postpone the boss battle until we can think of how to deal with this dilemma." he spoke up calmly, putting his hands together in front of him as he stared at the other guild leader.

"You can't." was the soft but still urgent answer from Natsu as he adopted a pained expression.

"What are you saying Natsu?" Asuna asked with furrowed brows. A quick look at her body language showed she was also really shaken by the information and was uncertain what to do. "If we walk into their trap willingly, a lot of good people could die."

"And if we let the fear of them intimidate us, then we lose all hope of ever leaving this game." the young teen snapped back, a first that Heathcliff knew of, at least in a public setting. Natsu sighed as he tried to rein himself in a little before continuing in a calmer voice. "Just because we postpone the boss fight, the threat of Laughing Coffin won't go away. It looks like from their actions that they intend to stay in the game, to sabotage our efforts to reach the top and get out. If we don't act now and deal with them then we are basically abandoning the idea of ever beating the game. This, this is a unique opportunity, our chance to deal with them before they grew larger." he explained passionately, and it certainly worked as Asuna's frown deepened, clearly thinking about his proposal.

"The idea has merit, I admit it." Heathcliff spoke up after thinking through the situation, raising an eyebrow at Natsu."But even if we beat them back, they could easily escape and it will be once again a waiting game for their next attack. And we may not have an early warning then."

The teen nodded, accepting his point before looking up at Argo who with a soft smile stopped working and brought a map forward, showing it to the others. With a quick look, the leader of KoB recognized the steampunk-themed 20th floor's map though he did not know what the X placed near the edge of the map meant.

"Among other things, our deserters revealed the current base of the Laughing Coffin on the 20th floor." she revealed and Asuna let out a soft sound of surprise before she leaned forward to study the map. "It is a cave system far away enough from most dungeons that it has a relatively little monster population, out of the way for any of the players enough that no one would notice the place without looking but close enough that they could move easily to ambush players." she explained as she manipulated her menu, the floor map replaced by a series of caves connected with tunnels, making a very confusing layout. "This is the map data we recovered, the place is very defensible but not impossible to navigate once you study it a little."

"No doubt they also realize sooner or later we know this, so the more we wait, the more time they have to abandon the place and for us to lose any trail that we have of them." Buzz took over, in his usual gruff manner. "I doubt they will call off tomorrow's attack but they will be more cautious. Regardless, this is our best chance of catching that guild."

"I see. So what you propose is to attack their base with a group of players while the raid party springs the trap they so eloquently set and fight the Laughing Coffin members sent there." Heathcliff said, analyzing the plan. It was not bad per se, though he could see a few holes and a few possible problems with it. Still, it was feasible.

"It's risky." Asuna cut in, sending a frown to Argo and Buzz who she believed were the masterminds behind this plan. From the guilty expression on Natsu's face, Heathcliff guessed that most of the plan came from him."They will probably send the majority of their players to the boss raid so they could catch the weakened party off-guard. Even if we tell them ahead what to expect, no doubt that the red players will wait to the best possible time to strike when our guards are down. I think it's too risky of a plan."

"You are right, this is very risky." Natsu surprisingly agreed with a small smile on his face."That's why what I propose is a three-way attack."

"Three?" Asuna asked back, blinking owlishly at him as he leaned back on his seat, looking older than his actual age with that serious expression.

"You are right, that after the boss battle or even during it, our players will be too vulnerable to an attack. That's why I think we should split our players into 3 groups. One, to engage the boss and sprung the trap. The second one will launch an attack on their headquarters while the third one will be on standby to aid the first group the moment Laughing Coffin attacks. It will cover most of our bases while making it hard for our enemies to retreat."

"If we are planning to halt their attack without inducing casualties, wouldn't it be better to concentrate on the attack they plan on us?" Heathcliff asked, clearly intrigued. It was far from a foolproof plan but it already had more thought put into it than Lind or Kibaou would have contributed. It made sense, why the leader of DDA wasn't here, he would have simply demanded them to march forward and face their enemy head-on, headless of the dangers. "Why are you so intent on attacking their headquarters, Natsu-kun?" he asked, deciding that it would serve no one to beat around the bush.

The three in front of him, looked at each other, silently communicating. It amused him how well they could read each other with a few simple looks, something that Asuna on the other hand found annoying, mostly because she felt like she was being excluded. After a nod from Argo, Natsu turned back to them.

"From what we learned, the leader, PoH is the whole cornerstone of this whole movement. He was the one who brought them together, who gave them direction, and the one who provided them the items that gave them an edge. If we want to deal with the red guild once and for all we have to capture him."

"And while his so-called inner circle will be amongst the attackers, he will stay in their base." Argo took over from Natsu with her mouth set in a grim line."We also know that teleport item that the player killers have are all lead back to PoH, so with him staying back they have an available escape route, an escape route we can cut off if we time our attack on the base around the same time the fighting at the boss turns to serious. If, and I stretch the if, we can end this whole Laughing Coffin thing before it could go on any longer."

"It's not like I don't realize that nothing could go wrong." Natsu admitted as he sighed and a hand reached out to massage the side of his head, obviously fighting off a headache."A lot of things could go wrong and it's incredibly risky. But we are here, we are risking our lives in the frontline every day because we want to go home, to give others hope that this nightmare can end. Laughing Coffin currently is in the way of that dream and we have a chance to deal with them. Isn't that worth it?" he asked them, passionate eyes looking into Heathcliff's steel-like, impassive eyes.

The older man had to admit, despite clearly coming up with it on the spot, Natsu's speech wasn't without its own piece of truth or effectiveness. Kayaba may not have been a very talkative person and giving a speech to others was one of the furthest things from him, he couldn't ignore the effects a well-delivered speech could have on morale. In his player persona, he had to give out one or two speeches to gather the core members of his guild and could appreciate the raw honesty in Natsu's voice.

"When you put it into like that...'' Asuna trailed off uncertainty, her gaze not able to remain at Natsu's. Unlike the Keepers of the Seven Rings who seemed to walk into the Laughing Coffin at every corner, she did not have a run-in with them, so did not realize just how much damage they could cause.

Heathcliff on the other hand was very much aware of how much damage they could cause, thanks to his authority over Cardinal and able to monitor the whole game. With only one exception and that was the reason why he decided to become more involved with this situation.

Despite himself going over the system, somehow PoH became invisible for a lack of a better word. He still got information from his character, even knew which floor he was in, but whenever he tried to look into his precise position, all he got was a blank screen much to his growing interest. Hacking the game was out and he was honestly stumped how the man was able to block himself from the system's notice so completely.

"It's certainly an ambitious plan." he said, nodding subtly in acknowledgment. With what little they knew for sure and the danger they knew their enemies represented, it was not a bad plan at all. "Though pulling together 3 whole parties will be difficult, and it would be hard to hide such large movements of players." he added thoughtfully.

"We will probably have to mobilize most of the frontline players and all that without tipping off whatever spies they have in our group." Asuna said, rolling her eyes when Buzz sent her an incredulous look. "It's not that hard to figure out, we already knew there are green players in Laughing Coffin and for them to know precisely how and when we plan to fight the boss, they need an inside man." she huffed as she reached up to smooth her frazzled hair. "I miss the times when we only had to worry about finding and dealing on the current floor's boss."

"You and me both." Natsu said to her with a sympathetic smile, gaining a small smile in return.

"Unfortunately, even if we have higher levels, better gears, and more experience, we will need the numbers on our side as well to face them." Buzz spoke up, bringing down the slightly positive atmosphere with an unapologetic shrug. Across from him, Heathcliff nodded, already figuring out what he was talking about. "These guys are fanatics, plain, and simple. They have no qualms about taking a life and worse, they have no survival instinct. While a sane person would stop when their health hits red, these people will simply throw themselves at you, not caring if they die or not. If we are not prepared enough, it will be a massacre on our side."

"Our best course of action would be to subdue them and get them to a designated prison as soon as we could without taking away a portion of our forces to guard them." Heathcliff said out loud, looking at Argo curiously. "The perfect place would be the Black Iron Palace, though I know that Kibaou seems to drag his feet agreeing to our terms. I am curious, however, do you have a plan for how to get defeated members away from the battlefield?"

At the mere mention of Kibaou, both Natsu and Asuna grumbled to themselves, prompting Buzz to shake his head in a slight disappointment while Argo giggled to herself before she spoke up, deciding to answer.

"Kibaou aside, Thinker could be reasoned with, it's just a matter of talking to him without that idiot. As for how to take people to prison, we think of using a couple of corridor crystals to provide an extraction point at both the boss room and the Laughing Coffin base." she explained, earning a surprised blink from the sub-leader of KoB.

Corridor crystals are a special type of teleport crystals that instead of teleporting said person to a specific city, literally opens a corridor to a specified point. Because of this function, they were a lot rarer and a whole more valuable. Especially since they were only able to get these by getting lucky with specific mob drops as they were currently unable to purchase them from stores.

"That's not a bad idea, if not a little expensive. Even if we could find someone willing to part with one, it would be cheap." Heathcliff said, diplomatically. Truth be told, a corridor crystal was worth more than most guild buildings, with a few exceptions, like his and Natsu's guild's headquarters.

"I know that but we really need them if we want to make sure to limit casualties." Natsu added with a weary sigh. "I already sent Ken, Basil, Biggs, Wedge, and one of the deserters with our only corridor crystal to get as close to Laughing Coffin's base as they could without being spotted and set the opening corridors for the crystal. Meanwhile, I have Argo go through those we know have corridor crystals and bidding for them with aliases, so no one would realize we are gathering corridor crystals."

"We are willing to put most of our funds to that endeavor but it would help if we weren't the only ones contributing." Buzz said the pointed look he sent Heathcliff was not hard to miss.

The game master had to hold back a smirk at that. While Natsu simply felt wary around him but tried to act cordially, the older man never tried to hide the fact that he disliked his attitude and didn't trust him. He wasn't sure he was like that because Buzz suspected something about him, simply a gut feeling or something else entirely but it prompted him to keep his distance from them. After all, it wouldn't be fun at all if his little game of leading the clearing party was put to a stop so soon.

"Of course, we will be more than willing to assist you." he said in the end with a completely impassive face before turning to Asuna, letting the slightest of fondness color his tone. It was important that he trusted his subordinates after all."Asuna, could you work in Argo to pool over our resources? I will clear it with Daizen later, you have completely free hand to use it as you see fit."

"U-understood." the girl answered, a little flushed at the trust he showed in her. That or the Cheshire grin on the information broker's face, even he was not sure which one.

"If I understand correctly, we have to present the whole idea that no possible spy would be able to warn the Laughing Coffin, am I right?" Heathcliff asked, receiving a nod from both Natsu and Buzz. "I think it would work, if you say to all three teams that they are the raid party so they would be ready for the right, only not the one they were expecting."

"That's not a bad idea at all." Buzz had to admit it, even if he grumbled about it."If we tell the gathering points at a short notice, we can even avoid others learning there are multiple groups in the first place. What I'm worried about is that stunt will need the majority of the frontliners to work and it's not an easy thing to mobilize them, especially without making it obvious that we know something is off."

"Thankfully our guild and fuurinkazaan are keeping contact with the smaller guilds and a few solo players. We can send word to them and have them prepare easily enough without raising attention. It's also to our advantage that everyone is wary of this boss since it's the return of the 25th boss so it would be natural for everyone to prepare for an inevitable battle." Natsu said, placing a hand on his chin as he thought out loud. "What would be harder is to talk with the semi-large guilds who try to be 'independent' as possible as we have next to no direct contact with them and it would be too obvious to have Argo contact them."

"Then it's only appropriate that I shoulder the task of readying the larger guilds." the leader of KoB said as he stood up, gathering the others' attention. "Our guild is usually overseeing most other medium guilds and I can use this connection to have them and the Divine Dragon Alliance as well, ready as soon as we have an idea who goes to which group."

"That's awfully generous of you:" Buzz commented with a frown on his face, naturally suspicious of him so quickly agreeing to this. Understandable if not a little annoying.

"Buzz, be nice." Natsu admonished him softly as he followed suit and stood up while Argo walked over to Asuna to be able to talk without needing to shout and still able to pay attention to the other conversation going on in the room. "Thank you for the support, Heathcliff, it means a lot. Though, you seem to be in a bit of hurry?" he added with uncertainty. Heathcliff for his part was certainly surprised that he was able to notice that on him, despite doing his best to give nothing away, either with his face or body language.

"Despite what the rumors may want to paint me as some kind of master tactician, while I may be a quite proficient fighter and maybe somewhat charismatic, this strategic debate is a bit too much for me. Other than that, I should be going, inform my guild as well speak with Lind and the other larger guild leaders to have them ready themselves. First things though, I will head to a meeting with Thinker and inform him of the bare necessities and ready the Black Iron Palace to serve as a prison." he told him with the barest hint of a smile as he stepped away from the table but made no motion to leave just yet."I leave Asuna with you to serve as the representative of the KoB, I hope it's not too much to ask.

"Of-Of course not, Guild Master. I will do my best." Asuna stuttered out with red cheeks as she tried to look dignified, despite the other occupants of the room not so subtly snickering at her.

It served well to put less attention on the leaving Heathcliff but he was stopped by a young voice just as he was about to leave through the door.

"Thank you for all the help, Heathcliff." Natsu said to him with an honest smile before giving him a low bow. "We couldn't do as well without the assistance of you and your guild. So thank you for the help."

"It's not like we couldn't have done it without him." Buzz grumbled to himself but shot up when Argo appeared behind him and cuffed him on the head. Glaring at the Rat, he turned back to the older man."Yeah, yeah thanks for the help."

For some reason that was unknown to him, he couldn't hold back the small chuckle that suddenly escaped him. He was not one to chuckle, especially not in his player persona, as shown by Asuna's audible shock, though even in the real world as Kayaba Akihiko he tended not to do such a thing. Still, something about the earnestness and honesty of Natsu seemed to affect him as well.

"Of course Natsu-kun. I, just as any of you want to defeat this game more than anything. If there is anything in my power to help, please don't hold back. Until tomorrow, may our plans work as intended." with that, he bid them farewell and stepped out of the room.

As the door closed behind him, he stayed in place for a moment, to think through all that was revealed to him and how it could affect his plans for the frontline players but after that he began to walk away, intent on doing his part before retiring to the cardinal system and make a few preparations of his own.

After all, what fun would be a game without players in it?

-0-

"Isn't that a bit too much?" Natsu asked with a raised eyebrow as he almost literally felt a sweatdrop form on his head.

Around them, in the main hall of their guild mansion, a party was going on a full-swing. Large tables were brought out from storage, filled to the brim of various drinks as well mouth-watering food made by the combined efforts of Basil, Agil, and Asuna. There were several other tables at the sides, filled with members of the Keepers of the Seven Rings plus a few acquaintances, like most of Fuurinkazaan, having a big large party before tomorrow's boss battle, a chance to cut loose before they once again put their lives at risk.

Someone, probably Agil if he had to guess, even had music going on, a couple of more free-spirited people dancing in the middle of the large room, much to the amusement of the rest. It was chaotic, with people yelling encouragement to each other, busy boasting the stories they were telling more and more, and quietly speaking reassurances to their closest friends.

It felt like people were determined to party themselves out as if their life depended on it and even if he felt tired just from watching them, Natsu couldn't find it in himself to begrudge them. It didn't mean he wouldn't have liked it if they were a little more restrained, he thought as he saw someone trying to jump off a table for some incomprehensible reason before they were stopped by their friends.

"Well, people need to unwind from time to time and in a game where death means literal death, you tend to grab every little opportunity to have fun with friends." a voice sounded from his right as Argo took a seat next to him, giving him a soft smile. She had foregone her usual cloak and wore a pretty, violet sundress which for some reason made him blush slightly and look away. "As much as Kirito would disagree with the sentiment, there's more to successfully living through this game than constant training.

"Hear, hear. You are preaching to the choir, sister." Klein agreed with a loud voice as he raised his glass from the other end of the table before returning to his talk with Agil, Buzz, and Asuna, wildly gesticulating much to the others' amusement.

All of the core members of their guild as well as their closest acquaintances gathered at one of the larger tables but none of them could hide the tension that they all felt at what was coming after this night.

Dave and Dylan were talking with Biggs and Wedge, both pairs trying to outdo each other with less and less believable stories they were telling of their adventures. Natsu stopped paying attention when he heard Wedge single-handedly taking on a boss while dual-wielding two axes, the teen shook his head in mirth before turning to his left. Next to him, Liz sat in his usual get-up, chatting with Ken and Basil, mostly about different weapons, which ones work best for which stat, and similar things. Much to his amusement it mostly consisted of the girl talking while the boys were nodding at the appropriate times to show they were listening.

The only one that was missing from their group was Kirito, which was not much of a surprise, the black swordsman was a loner even at the best of days. Still, Natsu wouldn't lie and say he wasn't a bit sad about his absence.

"I can't help but voice that the transition from serious strategy meeting to this feast was a bit sudden for me." he told the information broker who began to snicker at him before she dug into her food with vigor.

They were wrapping up their discussions on who to put in which groups for tomorrow's fight when Basil came in to ask about what food they wanted for dinner. That led to Asuna insisting on her growing cooking skills which led to a literal cooking war between the two of them. Before Natsu could comprehend what was going on, Agil pulled out various beverages, Wedge was sending invitations to everyone and Biggs was busy with Ken to transform the main hall to accommodate a sudden party.

It's not that he didn't like the idea of a party to let go of their worries a little but the others were so quick to go from serious to party animals that he felt the whole room was spinning around him.

"Well, we would have had a big party similar to that after the 25th boss fight but with how that one turned out, nobody felt like doing anything." Buzz commented from where he sat, leisurely sipping from a sake cup."Plus everyone had been working hard for a while and with how Laughing Coffin began to move and the upcoming boss fight, these guys only needed an excuse to kick back and party themselves out. So whatever happens tomorrow, they won't have any regrets." he added solemnly, giving the brown-haired boy a significant look before with a nod he turned back to Agil.

Argo placed a comforting hand on Natsu's shoulder when he frowned and looked morosely at the food in front of him. It was easy to see that the attack on tomorrow weighed heavily on his mind. While all of them worked together to think of an effective strategy it was clear to both her and Buzz that Natsu already viewed himself as responsible. It was not a responsibility that a twelve-year-old should have but it was not a fair world, where ten thousand people were locked into a literal death game.

All they could do is to stand with him as his friends and whether through the oncoming storm together.

"And anyway, we didn't have a large gathering of friends since the celebration after the 5th-floor boss fight, so worry later and have a little fun." changing the subject, Argo cheerily grabbed a nearby pitcher and poured him a glass of orange juice. Well, they and the system called it orange juice but according to Basil, the juice was created using frog legs and powdered bull horns but it was better not to think about how their foods and drinks came to be. The system was weird when it came to cooking.

"Yeah, it's been a while since the main hall has been this lively." Natsu commented, finally showing a small smile. While he and his friends weren't ones to keep silent for long, it was rare for most of the guild and their friends to gather around at one place at the same time. And no matter how morose his thoughts were, the mood of this whole party was starting to affect him positively. "It's a shame that Kirito-san isn't here, then everyone would have gathered." he said, turning toward Asuna and the empty seat next to her that was reserved to Kirito in case the black swordsman changed his mind at the last second.

"It's a real shame because I looked forward to finally meeting the illustrious black swordsman." Lisbeth said as she turned to Natsu with a smirk that screamed mischievousness."I still wonder if he is really real or you just made him up to tease me. After all, the guys never here when I came to hang with you, never bring him with you to my shop. You guys don't even have a screenshot of him. How come?"

"Of course Kirito is here. He is just really shy you know?" Ken said with a grin while next to Natsu Argo almost choked on her food, despite not being possible because of the virtual bodies, at the mention of Kirito being shy. It was true for those who knew the teen really well but he came off simply as aloof and disinterested to most people.

Natsu discreetly elbowed the snickering information broker who only stuck her tongue childishly at him. shaking his head at her antics Natsu turned back to Liz and didn't notice as her face soured as something popped up in front of her and she began to work on an appearing window in front of her.

"Anyway, Kirito is a solo player, Liz, he prefers working alone. And the few times we work together, we had much larger concerns than making screenshots of each other." he said to her, trying to placate her with a soft smile."He isn't very sociable either so don't take it personally."

"I get it, I get it. It just really irks me that Asuna talks about him so much, mostly when she is worked up by him doing something and when you guys sing your praises of him." she added with an easy-going chuckle before doing a sudden turn-around as she poked Natsu on his chest with an angry pout on her face."Anyway, don't distract me because I have a beef with you, mister."

"M-me?" he asked back fearfully as he leaned back so much that his back touched Argo who did nothing to acknowledge his try at escaping Liz's wrath. No matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn't come up with an explanation of what he did to upset the smith.

"Yes, you. How can I call myself Aincrad's best smith if the oh so famous Orange Blaze doesn't deign to come to my smith for a new weapon to replace that old, dusty weapon of his?"

Natsu would have sweatdropped at the fast transition of a friend who was a girl to a saleswoman after more profits but one thing, in particular, stood out like a sore thumb.

"Wait, what's wrong with Benevolent?" he asked with a high-pitched tone as his hand instinctively raised to his sword before remembering he did not have neither his weapon nor armor equipped at the moment.

The weapon he found back then on the 5th floor as a quest reward served him well, even now when they were fighting much stronger enemies. It took a lot of effort and farming but he was able to max the weapon to its absolute best, putting it at a level where he reckoned he could use it for 3 more floors, 5 if he pushed it.

Despite some heathens saying it outlived its usefulness, the Benevolent was a beautiful piece of rare equipment that you would be hard-pressed to find a comparison among currently available longswords. And those who could best it, the hassle of getting it wasn't really worth it when he had an almost as good at the ready and he could focus on other things. Not to mention it looked cool, making Natsu very reluctant to part with it.

"Natsu, you have had that sword since the 5th floor. It's about time to use a newer sword that you can use and wield to the best of your ability." Ken said, joining the conversation but Natsu's finely honed senses couldn't be deceived so easily. He was obviously jealous of Benevolent, such a fine sword he was and since he couldn't get his hands on it, decided if not him then that neither Natsu could use it. It made perfect sense.

"That's coming from the guy who wrecks a katana about once a week." Basil, his loyal friend, and comrade dryly spoke up, taking away their attention from poor Benevolent. Ken in response only laughed sheepishly.

"Don't remind me. I feel like crying every time he shows up at my doorstep with that 'I did nothing wrong' smile on his face and I know just another of my babies ended up being sacrificed to the wiles of that idiot." Lisbeth suddenly slumped down in her seat depressed, mumbling to herself something about her precious babies. Natsu was wondering if he should be concerned by the rapid change in emotions.

"There, there Liz-chan." he patted her back giving her a consoling smile. "I promise to think about replacing Benevolent after tomorrow's battle okay?" he asked, earning a small nod as the girl turned to look at him with her hair shadowing her eyes. "But even if I keep my sword a little longer, you know you are the only smith that I trust to make good gear for me, right?" another nod and his smile widened as he handed her his glass of orange juice that remained untouched after he took a single sip from it earlier, offering it to her as a tribute. "Let's enjoy this fun while it lasts."

"Okay." she agreed with a much brighter smile as she took the glass from him, gulping it down almost greedily. Putting down the empty glass she looked at Natsu's smiling face before something seemed to click in her brain because suddenly her face became bright red and she turned away, unable to face him. "It was, really good, yeah. Let's, let's have some fun. I'm hungry, I'm gonna go look for some food." she mumbled in a low voice before storming away in an embarrassed, fast walk, despite the table still full of various foods. A moment later Asuna sighed, stood up, and followed after her friend.

Natsu could only scratch his head, completely lost on what happened. A look to Ken and Basil yielded helpless shrugs, they were just as clueless as him, prompting him to huff and try to forget about this whole thing. Girls were weird.

Ken and Basil went back to talking to each other and Natsu looked around him with a small smile. It was true he was very worried about tomorrow and felt a little out of place at a party like this, knowing what his decisions may result in but he couldn't help but love seeing everyone together, having fun. It was something they were rarely afforded in this death game and he agreed they needed to grasp every chance they got to have fun with their friends.

Shaking his head, resolving inside to keep the morose thought away and have a little fun to himself, he turned to his right, finding it strange that Argo didn't jump in to tease him earlier or made any comment after Lisbeth ran off. Seeing her with a small frown on her face and busy typing away at the window opened in front of her, he knew he shouldn't have been surprised. Despite her usual attitude, if there was anyone more workaholic than him then it was the infamous Rat herself.

Feeling a little daring, he reached out and grabbed her and grabbed her left hand in the middle of typing. Shocked, she looked at him, a little disgruntled at being disturbed, even if he knew that if he was anyone else, they would have been running for the hills in hopes of being spared of Argo's wrath. Thankfully, for one reason or another, he had a lot more leeway with her than most people.

"What is it, Natsu?" she asked with the slightest bit of impatience but it was telling that she wasn't calling him by the nickname she gave him. Natsu tried to hold back a wince, trying his hardest not to let his resolve crumble.

Not an easy thing, since a lot of people could testify that angering Argo was never good for one's health, finances or sanity. Still, sacrifices had to be made.

"This is a party, Argo-as-" his face reddened as he forced himself to use the endearing term Argo insisted whenever he addressed her. "A-Argo-ch-chan. That means you can't be doing work at a time like this. After all, you said yourself, tomorrow will be very dangerous and everyone will need this chance to wind down a little. That includes you. Even if you won't be doing any actual fighting tomorrow, we will rely on you and I want you to be on your very best. So please, have fun some tonight and no work." he told her his feelings honestly, only stumbling over his words a little but carried on.

As he watched her for her reaction, his face was red, usually, he wasn't one to outright tell others, even his friends his opinions like that, especially to girls so he was understandably embarrassed. His face tried to impersonate a tomato that caught on fire when he realized he didn't let go of her hand after getting her attention.

"I'm sorry." he squeaked out as he let go of her.

Argo's head was lowered, her hair hiding her face as Natsu anxiously waited for her reaction. He thought he caught a little red on her cheeks but he wasn't sure thanks to her whiskers and the fact that he couldn't see her face properly.

He was obviously nervous and when he was this nervous, he did what he did naturally: he began to babble without a filter or a solid idea of what he was saying.

"I mean, you always work so hard, even more than most frontliners, while also keeping your level close to our average so you could join or scout the newest floors yourself and, and your information saved our lives many times but more than that you are a very good friend. And I don't want to see my friends unhappy, or overworked so I just want you to, you know, just let things for once, or something like that. We have awesome food, good mood, so no reason for you to work alone, right?" he babbled before forcefully shutting himself up with his hands, his face feeling as if it caught on fire.

"This is so unfair Na-kun. Playing with a maiden's heart like that." she mumbled too soft for him to properly hear, only catching a few words from it. He opened his mouth, though he didn't know if he wanted to apologize or try to encourage her when he was caught completely off-guard as she grabbed his hand, pulling him up and after her as Argo began to walk toward the middle of the hall where a few people were dancing or at least tapping their legs to the rhythm.

"Argo-chan, where are you doing?" he asked, doing his best to refrain from outright panicking as she got closer and closer to the large group of people who looked at them curiously and her grip not letting up even a bit.

"It's your fault you know, a maiden's heart is really delicate." she said as she turned to him with a bright smile that honestly floored him. Her brown eyes sparkled with joy as she dragged him after her, and probably for the first time, it hit Natsu that his friend who was incidentally a girl was very pretty. "You promised me a good time so you better keep your word, mister. Let's dance."

"Dance?" his voice turned an octave or two higher as he entered full panic mode as she finally reached the middle of the dance floor, the others obediently parting for her.

He was about to refuse and try to escape when he caught the slightly hopeful expression on her face and in his mind, Natsu already knew he lost. He too wanted to have a little fun with his friends but more importantly, he wanted his friends to have fun too. And Argo was one of his closest friends, discounting Ken and Basil, someone who helped him numerous times and it was only natural that he wanted to help her too. And while he couldn't help her in her information network, the least he could do to help her relax for one night.

"Ok, I'll try." he said in a low voice as his face tried to reach a new level of redness and he was fearful that it was working. "But I don't know how to dance." he admitted embarrassedly. In response, Argo grinned at him, and instead of mischievous, her grin was much more gentle than usual.

"Don't worry, I'll teach you." she promised him as she drew him closer to her, uncaring of the mounting panic at the younger teen's face.

There was a kind of upbeat song going and it wouldn't have been so bad as Argo began to direct him how to dance if it wasn't for the fact that they weren't alone and the others soon began to notice their usually shy and reserved guild leader dancing with a pretty girl and as was the law of the universe, it was time for them to embarrass him even more.

If he could have, Natsu would have sunk into the floor and merged with it, in hopes to avoid this whole incident as whistles and encouraging shouts filled the hall as his guildmates tried to support him. Natsu would have preferred if they stayed silent though.

"Nice going, boss. Show her a good time"

"Show us your moves Natsu!"

"Why can't I find such a cute girl to dance with myself?"

"That's our guild leader. Ahead of the curve with a pretty girl at his side."

Unfortunately for Natsu, it seemed the rest of his guild and fuurinkazaan too and soon he had almost everyone shouting encouragement to him or simply lamenting the ratio of male and female players in the game.

He was momentarily distracted when Argo grabbed him once again and spun him around, laughing merrily as he tried to stay on his feet and Natsu couldn't find it in himself to say he disliked the whole experience.

"Don't worry about them." she whispered to him as she hugged him close to her and rested her head on his shoulder. Despite Natsu being quite short, Argo was only a little taller than him so the position was relatively comfortable for both of them, save for the embarrassment Natsu felt. "They are just joking around. Relax and have a little fun tonight."

"I'll try." he mumbled into her hair as they followed the rhythm of the music but a large group of people made him look up and around in curiosity.

"Thank you, Na-kun." she whispered while he was distracted with a heartfelt smile on her face as red dusted her cheeks, thankful the young teen seemed to miss her words."Thank you for being you."

Instead of simply watching, most of the guild decided to get off their chairs and join them at the improvised dance floor. Soon, the dance floor was full of people, laughing, making full of themselves, and simply having a good time. As a side effect of this, most stopped paying attention to their guild leader and the infamous Rat dancing together, which made most of the tension go away.

He caught the sight of Liz, dragging Ken and Basil by their hands, laughing while the two boys tried not to fall on their faces and he couldn't help but quietly laugh at that. It was much funnier when it wasn't happening to him. He also saw Wedge and Biggs with a few of their buddies from Klein's guild dancing around and loudly singing some songs though they were horribly out of sync and off-key.

It was chaotic, it was a little suffocating but it was exactly what made the Keepers of the Seven Rings what they truly were. In the end, they were friends, family before anything else and Natsu couldn't have found a better group to surround himself in this digital world.

He couldn't help but laugh at them, Argo joining in a moment later. Tomorrow will be very hard, that was indeed true. Tomorrow he will worry about his friends, about the comrades who will walk with him into battle but for tonight, he was a twelve-year-old kid having the time of life surrounded by his friends.

Back at their table Agil, Buzz and Klein were watching the rest of their group begin partying in earnest, sharing smiles as they watched Liz dumping her boys and dragging Asuna with her, to have the usually standoffish girl join the festivities. The three were sharing drinks, while not alcoholic, it had a nostalgic taste that all of them appreciated.

Agil looked at Natsu who was dancing around with Argo, none of his earlier nervousness present and couldn't help but grin at the two of them. Following his light of sight, Klein looked their way and snorted into his drink before looking at the ax wielder with a wide grin.

"Looks like our little casanova is picking up girls left and right. If he is going to keep up, I have to ask for lessons from him. When will Argo finally join your guild? She is hanging around you more than enough that it shouldn't be anything more than a formality." he asked curiously.

"It's better for Argo to remain neutral, at least for an outside observer." Buzz said, joining the conversation as he put down his sake cup."The value and trust factor of her information would decrease greatly if she joined any guild, no matter which. For the sake of the clearing party, it's best that she is considered a neutral party."

"Not to mention, she cares little for things like joining a guild and would come and go as she sees fit either way." Agil agreed with a chuckle as watched the kids be kids for once.

"Guess you are right. Then what about Lisbeth? I mean you guys did hear her demanding to make Natsu's next sword." Klein said, his grin getting wider as he drank from his beer."Man, Natsu's living this virtual life to the fullest.

"Her business would suffer a lot more if she turned out to be our guilds, exclusive smith. And she is far too independent, preferring to work on her own." Agil calmly replied before raising an eyebrow at Klein. "Why are you so interested in pairing Natsu with somebody?"

"No reason, just funny to see the normally so focused kid acting shy around the ladies. I didn't see him squirm this much even before boss battles so it's entertaining." he answered with a shrug before raising his mug to his mouth.

"Or rather, to compensate for your rather lacking success with the ladies, you are trying to live through Natsu." Buzz butted in with a straight face, only cracking a grin when Klein took a spit take, almost spraying his drink on Agil who quickly took a seat away from the red-haired man. "Anyway, whatever happens, I bet two thousand cols that Natsu would sooner get a girlfriend than Kirito and Asuna finally getting together."

"That was a low blow. But I'll take that bet." Klein enthusiastically replied as he shook the spear user's hand."Wonder If I can get a whole new set of armor from that two thousand, it's only a question of time until my man Kirito comes through for me."

"Must you act so childish all the time?" Agil asked them with a sigh though there was a fond smile on her face.

In response Buzz shrugged, his face turning more serious as he leaned back in his seat.

"It's not doing any harm and better get it out of our system now. Tomorrow will be hard enough as it is." he told them solemnly, the two men nodding in agreement.

"You got a point. Still, are you sure you are going with that group?" Agil asked, sending his old friend a worried frown.

"You are talking about as if I would be in any less danger in any of the other groups. Either way, those guys will be done for once they face me. Relax I will be fine." Buzz tried to calm his friend with a cocky smirk. "Besides, someone has to look after the kid before he gets way over his head." he said, nodding toward Natsu who was busy laughing and dancing around to notice their serious talk.

"Even so, I can't help but have this bad feeling. It doesn't help that we send people out to fight for their lives." Agil said, his frown growing. He never liked Natsu's and the others' participation in boss battles all that much but let it go. This situation was much more different, they were going to fight humans who were prepared to kill them.

"As much as we love to say differently, they are not kids, not here." it was not Buzz who answered him in a solemn tone but Klein, none of his earlier cheer present."They are risking their life when grown men quiver in fear. We can't treat them like kids, they are our equals, no matter how much of a bitter taste this leaves in our mouth. All we can do is to watch over them and help them to the best of our abilities."

"Enough talking." Buzz spoke up, raising his cup, the others quickly understanding what he meant, and followed suit. "Tomorrow will be a long and hard day but we will survive. We will win, and strive forward so we can end this game. For the kids and their future. So the death game can end one day. For a better tomorrow."

"For a better tomorrow." the other two chorused before all three of them drank their choice of beverage before Agil grabbed a nearby bottle and poured another round.

Most of the guild partied away merrily until it was time to sleep, Natsu and the others utterly exhausted by all that dancing and laughing, while the three men kept a watch over them all, savoring this last bit of peace as long as they could.

It would be the last party they had for a long while.

-0-

While the Keepers of the Seven Rings spent the night before the attack, others similarly spent either with their loved ones or in solidarity, reflecting on their thoughts or getting ready for tomorrow in their own way.

Kirito was in an inn on a lower level, surrounded by five people who were in the middle of their celebrations. They were unaware of what would go down tomorrow, they were simply celebrating their newest member and the success they had in leveling up their lower-level members. They were a small, mid-player guild known as Moonlit Black Cats.

The former beta-player had a small smile on his face as he tried to blend into the background as much as he could despite the others frequently trying to include him. He didn't really dislike this whole situation but by nature, he was much more reserved, which usually resulted in people mistaking his attitude for either apathetic or arrogant. Few people made the effort to see through it, especially with his status as a beater hanging over his head, something these guys were not aware of.

His smile slowly turned to a frown as he looked away, out a nearby window, reminded of the letter he got earlier the day from Argo, explaining what was going on while he was busy helping his new guild level up.

While he didn't encounter them yet, he, as most of the frontliners, heard of Laughing Coffin. He didn't know what to expect from people who chose to PvP in a death game but the idea of attacking the raid party while they were exhausted after a boss battle was just too horrific. What would they gain from this, what reason could there be to kill people who were working to find a way out of here?

Of course, the counter-attack Natsu and the others weren't any less insane even if he admitted that considering the circumstances they had very few options if they wanted to avoid indefinitely stopping their progress toward the upper floors. That didn't mean he had to be enthusiastic about the coming fight.

He would be there, there's no doubt about it. While he enjoyed this piece of normalcy he found with the Moonlit Black Cats, and the time away from the frontlines, he still had friends among the Cleaners, friends he wouldn't leave to fight this battle alone. Not to mention, Asuna would have his hide if he bailed out on them in one of their most important fights to come. And that wasn't even mentioning the others, starting from Natsu's disappointed silent frown, to Klein's complaining.

Kirito let out a silent groan at thinking what would the famously workaholic Asuna the Flash would do to him if she learned that he was lying about his level, hanging around a low-level guild instead of grinding at the frontline and working his butt off because he simply felt like he belonged to somewhere for once. The results wouldn't be pretty, that's for sure.

"Is everything alright, Kirito-kun?" a soft, shy voice asked him, prompting him to turn away from his morose thoughts.

In front of him stood a short girl with short blue hair in a slightly better version of the starting basic armor. She was nervously playing with her hands as she looked at him from the corner of her eyes, face lit up in a blush as if she was embarrassed just by speaking up.

It may not have been so far from the truth. She was one of the other guild members, a spear user who he was tasked to help out and train to overcome her reflexive fear of monsters and fighting. But most of all, she was a sweet, caring young girl who tried her best even if it looked like she wanted to be as far away from any battlefield as possible, so Kirito forced a small smile on his face, determined not to ruin the good mood or worry her unnecessarily.

"Don't worry about it Sachi, I was just lost in thought." he told her, silently letting out a sigh of relief as she seemed to nod and drop the issue.

What surprised him was that instead of going back and joining the others, she shyly took a seat next to him with an equally shy smile. He tensed for a moment but when the girl didn't initiate the continuation of their conversation, instead simply enjoyed the relative silence.

Humming to himself, Kirito closed his eyes as he leaned back on his chair, trying to relax as much as he could. He already told them he will have to go away for tomorrow, though refrained from mentioning anything about the upcoming fight. It's better not to worry about them. But for tonight, he could relax a little. He had a feeling he would need it.

Elsewhere, at the guild building of the Knight of the Blood-Oath, Heathcliff sat in a large room that was dubbed by most members as Heathcliff's Office. It contained a large, ornate desk in the middle with a couple of bookshelves, full of various books around as decoratives. Aside from that the room was left bare, not even a banner of their guild present as Heathcliff rarely cared about things like that.

The man just finished his 'conversation' with the Cardinal System and was done looking into a few things to make sure that tomorrow goes according to his plans. He let out a rare smile at the thought of whatever the outcome of the battle will be, at the very least he would be able to find answers to a few of his questions regarding both Natsu and PoH.

After all, even if most of the clearing group was lost, in time there would be others who would take up the mantle and a new clearing group would be born. This is just human nature, the will to adapt and survive. They may never reach the 100th floor but a journey was much more important than the destination, at least for Kayaba Akihiko, who dreamed of that floating castle and all the heroes that lived in it.

Back at the mansion of the Keepers of the Seven Rings, Byakuran sat in a window, looking up at the ceiling of the floor, small lights imitating various stars blinking around, a satisfied smile on his face.

They were given a room by Natsu and told to avoid leaving, for the time being, especially Bluebell, who would create a commotion if she suddenly appeared in front of the others. Of course, both of them knew that instead of a suggestion as it was worded, it was an order. After all, there was a chance they could warn their former companions of their counter-attack, even if the possibility was very small.

"Byakuran, are you, are you sure that was wise?" Bluebell softly asked him, as if she was afraid she would anger him with her questioning.

She sat on one of the two beds in the room, knees drawn up to her chest. She looked small and oh so vulnerable, nothing like the stubborn, foul-mouthed girl most saw her. It was not that surprising, once someone knew how the two of them ever ended up together.

She simply latched into him a few days after the death game started and Byakuran allowed her to follow him as long as she remained useful. He gave her a few compliments, a few hugs, and like an attention-starved puppy she followed his every command. Even joining Laughing Coffin and their eventual defection was his idea but Bluebell's tsundere personality and sheer determination to make him happy made it easier to hide in the background.

She didn't make it a habit to question him and he quickly quashed that little bit of irritation that he felt at being questioned, instead of closing his smile, giving her a large smile to put her at ease. It seemed to work because a moment later, she relaxed a little, still looking at him, waiting for an answer.

He took a moment to think of an appropriate answer, humming to himself. It wasn't a question without merit, since this idea was a little last-minute even by him, forced by PoH becoming suspicious of him.

"Maybe it wasn't." he admitted a moment later before a cold smile took its place on his face. "Still, I can't help but get excited. Sooner or later, Natsu-kun and the one behind PoH will clash blades and I can't wait to be there to see it." he turned away from the girl back to the window. "If thanks to all that commotion, everyone forgets about us, all the better. After all, I'm not done exploring the possibilities of this world. So until then, please do entertain me, Natsu-kun." he whispered into the quiet night before retiring to his bed.

Tomorrow, everything will change.


	16. Level 16 Step into the Abyss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The start of the raid is here, Natsu shared a few moments with his friends before braving the darkness

Natsu stared at his character screen in front of him with a thoughtful frown as he waited for the others to arrive. Their team, which would be going after Laughing Coffin, was gathering in his guild’s mansion, where they will use a corridor crystal to get close to their headquarters. And it was slow-going, leaving the anxious swordsman alone with his thoughts.

He knew what they were going into would be dangerous and most would call it foolhardy and reckless, but they did not have a choice. If they weren’t able to cut off Laughing Coffin’s head now, the entire frontline could fall into chaos and that would be a fatal blow to their clearing progress. It was soon becoming a whole year since they were trapped in this game, yet they were not even halfway up, and now, more than ever, the players needed good news. A lot of good news.

Yet even since the others left for their respective gathering places, he couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong. It may have been chalked up to nervousness but his life was saved a lot of times because of these gut feelings and he chose not to disregard it. Nonetheless, there was nothing he could do, aside from waiting for the raid.

"Anxious?” a voice from next to him broke him out of his morose thoughts, prompting Natsu to look up from where he sat on a bench, perplexed.

The infamous beater, the Black Swordsman Kirito stood there, leaning on the wall with his arms crossed. Instead of the usually blank or lazy expression on his face, the older teen was frowning heavily while watching the rest of their party gather, talk in hushed tones and make last-minute preparations.

"There is no way I couldn’t be.” the young guild leader admitted with his shoulders slumping.”It doesn’t help that our group is splitting up, we are used to working as a large group, it will be strange not having Ken or Basil to back me up in a pinch. You?”

"It’s completely natural. We are not going to fight against computer-generated opponents, but real, breathing humans who will be doing their best to kill us. Honestly, I am terrified but I have to force myself through this.” he said, then awkwardly reached out and patted Natsu’s shoulder. A lot of things could be said about Kirito, both good and bad, but he wasn’t and probably would never be good at social interactions.”And you will have both me and Buzz to back you up, so I think you will be alright.”

"Damn right you are, it will be alright. I didn’t babysit these little kids for so long to have them die on me now.” Buzz commented with a gruff laugh as he walked up to them, spear lazily resting on his shoulder.

He wore new armor, his old one was a little worn down and it was due for a replacement anyway, with its low stats. His new was shiny, with a lion motif on his shoulders, and the middle of his chest plate, a little bit outlandish for the normally much more practical Buzz but it strangely suited him. He wore forest green clothes under it.

"Buzz please, stop treating me like a kid.” Natsu asked, just barely stopping himself from whining. It wouldn’t help his argument at all.

"Nah, it’s way too much. I’ll probably keep it up until you get some hair on your chest.” he said, laughing to himself at Natsu’s pout

"You do realize our bodies are nothing but lines of code, and probably won’t change despite the passage of time?” Kirito asked with a raised eyebrow. People were getting so used to this life inside the game that sometimes they tended to forget that their bodies weren’t their real bodies.

"Exactly.” was his answer, causing both teens to sweatdrop.

"Well, at least you have me to guard your back.” Kirito turned to Natsu, acting nonplussed, causing him to snort and say a quiet thank you.

With the little interaction gone, the black swordsman turned back to Buzz, the brief moment of levity over.

"How are things looking? Are the others ready?”

"Slowly but yeah. We are only waiting for the stragglers now and for the boss team to send word.” Buzz explained as he scratched his jaw as he looked over the softly conversing players. ”Of course most of them thought we would face a boss, instead of PKers so it will take a little time to set in but they are a tough bunch. We will be ready.” there was obvious pride in his voice.

’Since when did Buzz get so soft?’ Natsu thought with amusement as he followed his mentor’s example and looked over the gathered players.

He recognized most of them from their faces, all of them were frequent players on the frontline, which made sense. Out of the three teams, they would have probably the hardest time. While the boss team had to face the resurrected form of the 25th boss, they were aware of his patterns and more than ready for him and the inevitable Laughing Coffin attack, with their backup waiting for them. Their team, on the other hand, will be going to a largely unknown dungeon, facing human opponents by themselves, with how many traps. They needed the best or at least those they could spare from the boss battle without making it suspicious.

Already, the lack of both Black Swordsman and Orange Blaze could tip off any Laughing Coffin member keeping their eye on the cleaners but that was a risk they had to take.

Out of the gathered players, he even recognized a few people he could call acquaintances. He spotted Asuna’s bodyguard Climb, with 5 other members of KoB gathering in one of the corners, the young man looking anxious and out of place among the slightly older players. He also spotted Monroe and Syrukko, from Klein’s guild quietly conversing with a few solo players who showed up. There were also a couple of members of their guild in their raid group, though none other than him and Buzz were present from the core of their guild.

The others were in different groups, with Ken, Basil, and Agil in the boss group, while the brothers in the backup group. It was needed for their stronger members to be stretched thin so to speak, so each group would have sufficient strength with them, should the opposition turn out worse than they expected. But knowing this, wasn’t the same as liking it.

"Do we have enough ropes with us to secure all the potential prisoners.” Kirito asked out of the blue after a beat of silence.

The ropes he was talking about were the Ropes of Binding, a new item that was found on the 26th floor as a quest reward. They were not well-known at this time, even among the frontliners but it was just what they needed. If a person was tied up with them, it would be almost impossible for them to move either their arms or legs, making them immobile. And while others can easily cut them free, it was the perfect item for their upcoming raid.

Applying it wasn't the easiest even with a target that wasn’t actively resisting but if they wanted to avoid casualties and end up killing as few of their enemies, who after all they did were still humans trapped here in this game just as much as them, it was their best shot.

"Thankfully we probably have enough for all three teams.” It was Natsu who answered the solo player, a sheepish smile on his face.”It wasn’t easy, but ever since our first encounter with Laughing Coffin, our guild farmed that quest, knowing those ropes will come in handy if worst comes to worst. And now it did just that, I'm kind of happy we did that.”

"I see.”

The three once again, silently watching the preparations before Kirito’s attention was diverted by a glowing icon appearing in front of him. Grunting in annoyance, yet still, with a small, fond smile on his face, Kirito stepped away from his resting place, the other two fronttliners looking at him curiously.

"Those idiots, I told them I’m not available today.” he muttered to himself before he waved the others off. ”Just a few acquaintances who wanted my help, despite telling them that I'm busy.” he told them when they didn’t seem to want to let things go.

"Wait, you have acquaintances?” Buzz asked back, his tone disbelieving.

"That’s basically friends in Kirito speak.” Natsu added with an awed expression.

The black-haired teen felt his eyes twitch in annoyance at their visible shock. He wasn’t that bad, was he? On second thought, maybe he was but his pride didn’t let him admit it.

"Well I will be somewhere else, away from you. Call me when we are moving out.” he said to them instead as he walked away, offering a lazy wave as he was busy looking at the opened window in front of him.

Buzz and Natsu looked in the direction the swordsman disappeared, not at all surprised. Kirito, despite clearly trying to not do it at times, tended to suddenly leave the conversation when he wasn’t feeling up to talk to others. It was a quirk of his that they got used to. Thankfully Kirito liked them so it was rare, it was much more common with players he didn’t have a good relationship with.

They were caught off-guard when a voice suddenly came next to their ears.

"What are guys doing?”

Liz asked curiously, only to blink in shock when both teen and grown man shrieked as they jumped far more than she thought they could based on their stats and landed on their butts in a disgraceful heap.

"Liz? What are you doing here?” Natsu asked, looking curiously at the blacksmith as he rubbed his aching backside, only for his eyes to widen a moment, furiously looking at the perplexed girl and the direction a certain swordsman left.”How are you doing that?”

"How am I doing what?” she asked back, not understanding.

Next to them, Buzz stood up, grumbling to himself about sneaky brats before he simply shook his head and stalked away, toward a few members of the DDA who seemed to loudly talk about something, borderline arguing.

"Kirito was just here, talking to us. Then the moment he leaves, you suddenly turn up as if nothing was wrong. How can you always miss Kirito just by a hair’s breadth.” Natsu demanded from her before he stopped as an outrageous idea occurred to him. ”Don’t tell me...you and Kirito are the same and you hide your involvement with the frontline by crossdressing in a black coat?” he accused her as he pointed his finger at her.

For her part, Lis had an annoyed expression on her face as she reached up and massaged her temples.

"I don’t even want to start how many things are wrong with that conclusion. It’s so surprising how childish you can be despite the fact that you act so mature most of the time. Guess you are still a kid.” She ignored his pout as she opened a menu in front of her and soon a trading menu opened in front of him, with a large amount of throwing picks placed in it.”Here, I was asked to make a batch for everyone.”

"Throwing picks? What for?” he asked curiously as he accepted the trade without a thought, before bringing up his menu and started observing his newly acquired weapon.

It looked like any ordinary throwing pick with its quality slightly better courtesy of Liz’s blacksmith skills but nothing extraordinary especially considering that throwing picks were hardly able to do much damage. He heard some people trying to use it as a main weapon, during the first few months of the game but the idea was quickly thrown out the window. Nowadays only a few used it, mostly on a whim or to aggro enemies from a distance.

"They are poisoned?” he wondered out loud when he noticed the status debuff property that was added to them.

Giving a weapon such property was easier said than done and required a lot of skill, a skill that Liz had a lot of but it still couldn’t have been easy or cheap. Still, with a simple weapon like throwing picks, it might have been easier, he guessed since they had low durability and were used up very quickly.

"It was my idea.” a voice said from next to him. The teen blinked in surprise when he found Argo, in her usual cloaked attire standing next to him with a sly grin on her face. ”I thought if it worked so well for Laughing Coffin, there's no reason not to use it ourselves.”

"Argo.” he explained with a surprised yelp before he smiled at the girl. A moment later the smile turned a little brittle as he let out a choked sound as his whole face turned red and he practically jumped away from her.

He didn’t know how or why but after the party yesterday he woke up with the older girl cuddling to him, causing the reserved teen to freak out and embarrass himself. He still couldn’t look even in her direction without feeling like his face trying to turn into a literal sun.

For her part, the information only blushed slightly which was thankfully mostly hidden under her hood, and acted as if nothing was wrong.

Lisbeth just watched the two of them with a confused expression, eyebrows raised silently asking for an explanation but no one wanted to really answer her.

"Wo-wouldn’t you need the throwing skill to use that in battle?” the brown-haired guild leader stuttered out after he was able to gain slight control over his most recent freakout.

"If you wanted to use them properly, yes but you wouldn’t need to. It will simply be a useful tool to get the PKers immobilized while you tie them up. Even stabbing them in the middle of a battle will do and I trust your skills enough that I know you can pull it off.” Argo informed him, giving him an honest smile that didn’t help with his still red face.

"Ah, that makes sense.” he agreed with a nod, silently making a note to himself to equip the picks before the battle so he could have it on hand without the need to materialize it. After all, a few seconds was the difference between life and death during a battle.

"Well, all I want to say is please stay safe okay?” Liz spoke up, giving a brief hug to the surprised boy. ”You promised you to let me make a new sword for you, so come back in one piece.”

"I will do my best.” he promised with a resolute look on his face.

"That’s all I can ask of you.” she said with a gentle smile. She opened her mouth to say something more when a sudden silence ran through the whole room as various people had small windows appearing in front of them, indicating a message.”Just what’s going on?”

Argo and Natsu didn’t answer at first, both looking at their own messages with a frown and a resigned grimace on their faces respectively. Their eyes met, only offering a grim to the other, silently knowing the time has come.

"The message is from the raid party in the 27th boss room.” it was Natsu who answered her as she absently looked over the gathered players who were gathering together, all of their faces resolute.”The time for us to move out has come.”

Without another, the Orange Blaze and the Rat moved over to Buzz, who was busy directing the stragglers and making sure everything was ready. The blacksmith could only watch their back as they got farther and farther away from her, wishing for once that she focused more on her combat abilities so she could walk with them, instead of watching them from behind, hoping the weapons she made for them would turn the tide in their favor.

Most of all, she had a horrible feeling that she saw some of them for the last time.

-0-

The forest around them silent, with no sounds of animals or monsters around and it seemed even the general background music of the floor seemed to cease its constant loop as the last members of the raid party stepped through the corridor portal.

Natsu was standing next to Buzz as they surveyed the players forming their predetermined parties of six, the nervousness and tension in the air could almost be physically touched but it was expected. None of them were really sure what they were walking into but all of them knew what would happen if they let this opportunity slip through their fingers.

"Attention.” the spear wielder called out to them. Thankfully in a few seconds, everyone stopped talking and looked at the vice-leader of the KotSR. ”I know most of you are already aware but I will repeat it for everyone’s sake. This will not be a boss battle. It will not be a fight against computer-generated enemies. We will be facing living, breathing humans, the same us as, who would love nothing more than to kill each of us. We will be raiding the Laughing Coffin’s hideout and possibly stop this PK bullshit once and for all.”

He looked over the gathered players, all of them returning his gaze with a determined expression. Most of them were nervous, anxious, afraid, or simply felt sick at the thought of fighting and 

possibly killing fellow humans but all of that was buried under with the single resolution that everyone, their fellow frontliners, the support players, and all the other people still hiding on the 1st floor counted on them, now more than ever before.

"This is your last chance. The portal back to our guild mansion closes in less than a minute. If anyone, for whatever reason doesn’t want to participate turn back down. There’s no shame in that, it’s not exactly the kind of fight we signed up for when we faced the first boss. All of you were given ropes and throwing picks that cause paralysis, in order to subdue the enemy but I won’t lie to you. Our enemy is relentless, have no qualms against killing and despite our best efforts it's doubtless people will die, both on our side and theirs as well.”There was an uneasy shudder that went through the crowd as people understood the severity of the situation. ”Either turn back now or step forward and show no hesitation.” Buzz didn’t raise his voice but it carried over the clearing they gathered in easily.

Players looked at each other, friends and comrades met the others’ gaze and some more readily, some with reluctance but nodded, their decision already made. Nobody moved towards the portal that soon faded away, despite whatever misgivings they may have had about the situation, they chose to make a stand.

Looking at them, Buzz couldn’t stop the proud smile from appearing on his face, giving a nod of respect to them, before turning toward Natsu who stepped forward as the players looked at him curiously.

While as usual, Buzz handled most of the talking, both he and Argo agreed that Natsu should also be on the front to direct the players. They said and Natsu couldn’t argue that seeing one of the leaders of a large guild leading a charge would help the morale and currently they needed every advantage they could get their hands on.

"Thank you for remaining. We will move out in five minutes, the dungeon we are heading into is just a little distance away so everyone, stay vigilant.” he told them, standing as tall and proud as his short stature allowed.”The map data has been forwarded to everyone, please study it, it won’t be easy to navigate once we are inside. According to our info, we should have the numerical and level advantage but don’t underestimate the enemy, their best weapon is traps and various tricks, like poison and ambushes. Please gather around your assigned teams and get ready. Stay safe, all of you.” he told them sincerely before giving a bow and stepping back.

In his mind, he thought he didn’t look at all impressive and this would have been more inspiring if this speech had been done by either Kirito or Buzz.

What he failed to understand is that the players in front of him were veterans of several boss fights. They saw him fighting alongside them numerous times, his reckless actions saving their lives many times and all of them respected him for the determination he had on the battlefield. Not to mention, he was one of the youngest players in all of the game, never mind just the frontline, yet here he was, leading the charge once again. It was reassuring for a lot of them.

"Nice speech.” Buzz complimented him with a grin as he messed up his hair, much to Natsu’s protests.”Get yourself ready while I go and make a round, to make sure everyone has everything.”

"Yeah, yeah.” he grumbled as the man walked away with a smirk before turning to Argo who was smirking at their antics. ”I’m ready, so no point doing anything. You need help with something?” he asked and was thankful that the serious atmosphere around them prevented him from thinking of the morning.

In response the information broker shook her head as they walked toward where the rest of Natsu’s group was gathering, a few players looking at the two of them curiously. While Argo spent a lot of time with Natsu and his friend circle, it mostly happened when they were at the mansion or by themselves, while maintaining a mostly professional relationship during strategy meetings.

That of course made a lot of people a bit surprised to see them chatting with the ease of long-time friends. No doubt, Argo will have a new batch of rumors, this time involving herself on her hands soon.

"I will be out of the fighting.” she explained, reminding him of her role in the raid. ”I will be your contact with the outside, taking a watch hidden in front of the entrance, so if there is any information coming from the other groups I would be able to update you quickly. Plus watch if anyone tries to run away in this direction or if sudden reinforcements try to come back or something similar. Anyway, I am more worried about-” she started to stay but she was cut off as someone stood in their way.

"Natsu. Argo.” the figure wore the familiar medium armor with dragon motif, used by most members of DDA greeted them, looking extremely familiar to the brown-haired teen for some reason.

The man was a few years older than him, with a one-handed sword on his waist and a kite shield on his back. He was holding a helmet in his hands, showing a handsome face with blue hair pulled into a ponytail, save for two strands of hair that framed his fame.

He was very familiar to Natsu but more than that, looking at him, a sense of wrongness washed over him. It was different than when he faced Morgana, with her words that most felt wrong but looking at man, he seemed as if what he was seeing didn’t match up with reality, he could describe the feeling no other way. But that did not make any sense, everyone looked their real selves, thanks to Kayaba’s surprise in the first place.

He was so surprised and caught off-guard by it, he almost forgot that the man greeted them, looking like he knew them, not a real surprise there, and was obviously waiting for a response. He shook himself out of his thoughts as Argo spoke up.

"Diavel.” she greeted with a neutral expression, even if her eyes slightly hardened at seeing the leader of the 1st-floor clearing party.

Natsu’s eyes widened as he made the connection. He remembered rushing and saving the self-proclaimed knight’s life just barely, sacrificing his sword in the process. A large crisis was averted that day but since then he didn’t hear much from Diavel. For a while he retreated, staying out of the limelight and while he worked as a frontliner and cleared dungeons, he didn’t see him at a single boss battle since then. After that, he fell into anonymity, the veterans of the 1st boss fight remembering him with various amounts of fondness but it was clear he would never be a leader after people like Kibaou, Lind and later he and Heathcliff stepped up and took charge.

He did remember both Buzz and Argo confirm that the man was a former beta tester without a doubt who tried to get the last attack bonus for himself. That, and his efforts before the battle to stop Kirito from doing the same out of spite or for whatever reason, made his opinion of him a little less favorable.

"Diavel-san.” he greeted the knight, forcing a welcoming smile on his face, despite the feeling of wrongness that took over whenever he focused on the older teen.”How are you? I didn’t know you would join our raid group.”

While he was very much involved with organizing the raid groups, that didn’t mean he was aware of every little change or knew all the members by heart. It was very much possible that he simply didn’t notice Diavel’s name come up since even now he had a hard time recalling the older teen.

If he noticed their less than enthusiastic welcome, the self-proclaimed knight didn’t show it, only giving them a charismatic smile.

"Considering everything, reasonably well. It will be an honor to fight again with you Natsu-kun, I’m looking forward to how much you grew since the raid on the first floor.”

As he looked at him, there was something in his gaze that unnerved Natsu. For the life of him, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was not quite right and with his attention focused on him, that feeling only grew, until he had trouble keeping up his smile and not grimacing.

Argo seemed to pick up on his feelings somewhat because she stepped forward, subtly shielding Diavel’s view of him.

"I have to say, didn’t hear much from you for a while. What brought you here, you usually stay out of raids and such things.” she asked, a note of suspicion in her tone.

At her words, the teen lost his smile, a dark expression overtaking his face that monumentally stunned both of them.

"Payback.” he answered, barely withholding a growl.”Two days ago my hunting party was attacked by Laughing Coffin and I lost three of my friends to them. I’m here to even a score.”

"My condolences.” Natsu muttered a little taken aback, reminded of what happened during his first encounter with the guild, the loss Roger and the two young kids suffered. But at the same time, the bad feeling in the back of his head was also deepened by the venom he heard in Diavel’s voice.

A moment later the blue-haired knight’s expression cleaned, offering a tight smile to Natsu.

"Anyway, I should be going and take charge of my team. Good luck out there, I will be watching your back.” he told him, offering a wave to the two of them before he left.

With Diavel’s attention no longer on him, Natsu let a frown show on his face, as he looked in the direction that he went. For some reason, those words felt especially ominous to him.

"What’s wrong?” Argo’s quiet voice reminded him that he was not alone and he turned back to her. She was looking at him carefully, worry evident on her face.

"Nothing.” he was quick to answer, not wanting to burden her with these strange feelings of his.

Instead of letting the subject go, the blonde girl just rolled her eyes as she reached up and gently tugged on his ear, causing him to let out a small cry in surprise.

"You are a terrible liar.” she stated with an unamused expression as she let go of him.”Now, will you tell me what’s wrong? Something to do with Diavel?”

"I, it’s a little hard to tell.” he said, hesitating but a stern glare from the information broker didn’t give him much of a choice.”I just, looking at him I’ve got this sudden bad feeling. As if I was in some sort of danger.”

Much to his surprise, instead of dismissing his feeling like he expected, just like he had almost done it, Argo seemed to consider what he said seriously.

"Is it similar to how you felt around Morgana?” she asked with a curious tilt of her head.

He blinked in surprise, forgetting she was one of the few he told her how he had a feeling that something was not right with the woman before she showed her true colors but he believed she was only humoring him, instead of taking it seriously. Seems like he thought wrong.

"It’s a lot stronger and, instead of her words and actions feeling wrong, for the lack of a better term, with Diavel it was different. I felt as if reality didn’t match with what I was seeing.” he said, doing his best to explain it but was probably doing a horrible job of it.

Rather than dismissing him, Argo’s frown only deepened as she turned in the direction the former beta tester went, her mind working furiously, trying to make sense of what he was feeling.

"I wonder...” she trailed off, looking unsure and hesitant.

"Anyway, it’s probably, just my nerves.” Natsu hurried to say, wanting to believe that lie but even to his ears the excuse felt weak.

"Don’t doubt yourself.” came a rather stern reprimand but Argo’s face softened a moment later. ”But it’s time to finally move, the raid party seems to be ready to start. Go, I will look into it while I wait to hear back from your group.” she said, acting a little distracted.

With a surprise, Natsu looked around and she was right, almost everyone was in their assigned group, doing their last-minute preparations, determination clear on their faces.

He was about to hurry and join his and Buzz’s group when Argo stopped him, wrapping her arms around him and drawing him into her embrace. Despite being a little shorter than the information broker, he found himself being hugged by Argo as she rested her head on his collarbone.

To no one’s surprise, he immediately blushed like a flaming tomato, especially as he realized that they were out in the open and that some people were witnessing Argo in such a vulnerable moment but thankfully those people only gave them amused smiles before turning away, not drawing any more attention to it.

With no other choice, he rested his head on the top of hers as he wrapped his arms around her, returning the embrace.

"You have to promise me, that you will come back.” she softly demanded from him. To Natsu, it looked as if she was on the verge of crying.”Don’t do anything stupid, no recklessness this time. Just...just come back, okay?”

He could do nothing but stand there, a small frown on his face. It felt a little surreal, to him Argo was someone who couldn’t even be shaken, one of the strongest people he met in this game. She was always so confident, in herself, in her information, and even them. To see her like this, made his heart hurt, and felt he had no words that could help her.

This will be different from a boss fight, he knew that. They usually had some prior information on bosses before the battle, an idea of what to expect but the most deciding factor was that it was nothing more than a computer-generated enemy. No matter how strong or tricky it could be, it was still a program bound by its pattern and most importantly wasn’t really alive. In his head he knew what that difference should mean, in his heart, he silently questioned if he would be able to bring himself to do what was necessary.

"I can’t promise that.” he answered her honestly, feeling like he was the greatest jerk ever.”I can only do my best and hope it will be enough.”

"Guess, that’s all I can ask for.” she said with a chuckle as she stepped away from him. Argo’s face was suspiciously hidden under her hood as she pointed toward the players ready to move out. ”Go then, your team is waiting.”

He gave her a resolute nod as they parted, Argo quickly disappearing among the foliage, probably to scout ahead and Natsu walked next to Buzz and the rest of his group.

Along with the spear user, there were four other members of their guild. Not people that Natsu knew all that personally since their guild became larger than the original seven players, but he knew that they were nonetheless talented and trustworthy people. There was a scimitar user, two who used a shield and a one-handed sword combo and the last one was a hammer user of all things.

"You ready?” Buzz asked when he arrived, though he didn’t turn to face him. Instead, he watched the forest around them, as if fearing an ambush so close to the Laughing Coffin hideout.

"As ready as I could ever be.” he answered as he checked he equipped the throwing picks, resting on a small, easy to access pouch on his belt.

Done with the last of his preparations he looked over the clearing, watching the gathered force of cleaners. 42 people, 7 full parties, that would take the plunge into the abyss and face it head-on.

"A large party of our players is currently engaging the 27th boss, and Laughing Coffin will attack them any moment.” Natsu spoke up. He didn’t have to speak loudly, his voice easily carried across the clearing in the silence. ”They have a backup of rested and capable players hiding in wait, so they will be alright. They will defeat the boss and repel the ambush, which means the PKers will run like the coward they are. Who’s with me to welcome them back properly?”

A rumble ran through the gathered players, no one spoke up, not wanting to give away their positions but the nodding heads and resolute eyes were more than enough to give across the message. They were ready to finally be the ones on the offensive.

"Move out.” he silently ordered before turning around and leading the way toward the dungeon of the red guild, Buzz and the rest of his group following after him.

It was a silent trip, nobody spoke, deep inside knew that this is the point of no going back. Whatever happens, they will face it as one and they will emerge victoriously. They had to.

Natsu reached up to his sword, hand closing around the handle. It will not be easy but he will pull through. After all, he made a promise and he intended to keep it.


End file.
